I don't know why it was crazy, but it was...
Monday was officially the start of the new transfer. After we were done emailing I did some family history, since we email from the family history library. I found 2 names! I have been pretty stoked about that all week, I also found some birth and death dates for people, so that's sweet!!
Tuesday was Sister V---'s funeral, we didn't get to go, obviously as it was in Utah, but President Shumway did ask us to read Alma 40-42 during companion study, and at 11:00 (when the funeral started) we all knelt down and said a prayer. That was really cool, it was nice to know that all the missionaries in the OTM were doing the same.
On Wednesday we had Zone training, during it, Sister W--- and I had a bit of a revelation. We're going to do a 100% member present week! We're calling it Ace Week. All of our lessons will have a member there! We're doing it from September 29th to October 5th.
Thursday was a pretty normal Thursday aka weekly planning. We laid out some pretty intense plans to make Ace Week happen.
Friday and Saturday were normal missionary days. We visited people, had lessons, it was fun (:
On Sunday --- came out with us. He's 16 and awesome. He follows us in his jeep since we can't give him a ride and he can't give us a ride. He's a pretty cool kid and will be a great missionary one day! :D
This week I want to tell you all how cool family history is! When I found those names I was so excited! I had found out the names of someone I am related to! Part of my family! They were lost, we didn't know who they were, and now we've found them! YAY! It's soo cool! Seriously, just do family history. It's amazing.
Love,
Sister Fleck
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Goodbye Ozark, Hello Nevada
This week was really good. Most of the week in Ozark was spent saying goodbye to people, which was really sad...
Thursday was, of course transfer day. We woke up early, finished packing, and somehow, miraculously fit everything into Sister ---'s little car and drove to transfer point! We after the transfer loop got to us and everyone got off, Sister S--- met her new companion Sister E---, we met the new sisters who would be in Ozark and Sister S--- and I said goodbye. Right before she left, I looked around at who was still waiting at the transfer point (I was going to be on the 2nd transfer loop that would get to Mount Vernon at 1:30), I realized there were no sisters, and only elders... I asked Sister S--- if I was going to be the only sister.... we found a zone leader, and he checked and I was, in fact the only sister that would be waiting until 1:30. Fortunately, there were a member couple, the ---, who had given one of the Zone Leaders a ride and the wife could be my companion. If they hadn't of been there I could have stayed, I just would have had to have been with two elders at all times and it would have been extremely awkward. I was talking to the ---, anyway, I found out that they know the Snows!! WHAT? They served a couples mission and knew J--- from when they worked in the office together! *sings* It's a small world after all...
So, the other missionaries eventually got there and I found some Sisters to hang out with. Then, transfer loop began. I was able to get off at just the next stop, yay! And I met Sister W---! YAY!!! She is really cool! We have a lot in common and I think this is going to be a really fun transfer!!
I am excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me here in Nevada!
Love,
Sister Fleck
Thursday was, of course transfer day. We woke up early, finished packing, and somehow, miraculously fit everything into Sister ---'s little car and drove to transfer point! We after the transfer loop got to us and everyone got off, Sister S--- met her new companion Sister E---, we met the new sisters who would be in Ozark and Sister S--- and I said goodbye. Right before she left, I looked around at who was still waiting at the transfer point (I was going to be on the 2nd transfer loop that would get to Mount Vernon at 1:30), I realized there were no sisters, and only elders... I asked Sister S--- if I was going to be the only sister.... we found a zone leader, and he checked and I was, in fact the only sister that would be waiting until 1:30. Fortunately, there were a member couple, the ---, who had given one of the Zone Leaders a ride and the wife could be my companion. If they hadn't of been there I could have stayed, I just would have had to have been with two elders at all times and it would have been extremely awkward. I was talking to the ---, anyway, I found out that they know the Snows!! WHAT? They served a couples mission and knew J--- from when they worked in the office together! *sings* It's a small world after all...
So, the other missionaries eventually got there and I found some Sisters to hang out with. Then, transfer loop began. I was able to get off at just the next stop, yay! And I met Sister W---! YAY!!! She is really cool! We have a lot in common and I think this is going to be a really fun transfer!!
I am excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me here in Nevada!
Love,
Sister Fleck
Monday, August 25, 2014
A lot happened this week. I'm sure many of you have heard about the tragedy my mission experienced Friday and Saturday. On the way to Tulsa for a Zone Conference four missionaries were involved in a car accident. Three of them were okay, minor injuries, but at 3 AM Sister V-- passed away. It has been very sad and even though I had never met Sister V-- I felt like I had lost a very dear friend. The missionaries in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission are like family. However, we know where Sister V-- is and what she is doing there right now (http://www.mormon.org/beliefs/plan-of-salvation). We know that Sister V--'s missionary work is continuing, just in a different way. In an email to all the missionaries President Shumway said, "[Sister Shumway and I] are certain that Sister V-- is busy with her work on the other side…. But she was trained here… in the OTM. I like to think that she has just raised the standard for missionary work on the other side to a whole new level."
On Wednesday we had Zone Conference, it was an amazing Zone Conference! Sister P--- (my companion in the MTC) was there! YAY! I haven't seen her in seven months!! I learned so much and I am excited to start studying my notes and re-learning from them! President Shumway is so inspired. I always learn so much from him!
Saturday was transfer calls, and boy were Sister S--- and I surprised! She is going to St. Roberts 1st and will be with Sister E---, and I am going to Navada, MO (Nuh-vay-duh) with Sister W---. Yep. I'm shotgunning out again!
Didn't see that one coming!!
Well, that's all I can think to say in this email.
I know that Heavenly Father knows what he's doing. There aren't accidents, which can be hard to accept sometimes, but I know that he loves us, and he gives us the tools we need to overcome our struggles, we just have to be willing to recognize them.
I love you all. Please keep Sister V--'s family in your prayers.
Love,
Sister Fleck
On Wednesday we had Zone Conference, it was an amazing Zone Conference! Sister P--- (my companion in the MTC) was there! YAY! I haven't seen her in seven months!! I learned so much and I am excited to start studying my notes and re-learning from them! President Shumway is so inspired. I always learn so much from him!
Saturday was transfer calls, and boy were Sister S--- and I surprised! She is going to St. Roberts 1st and will be with Sister E---, and I am going to Navada, MO (Nuh-vay-duh) with Sister W---. Yep. I'm shotgunning out again!
Didn't see that one coming!!
Well, that's all I can think to say in this email.
I know that Heavenly Father knows what he's doing. There aren't accidents, which can be hard to accept sometimes, but I know that he loves us, and he gives us the tools we need to overcome our struggles, we just have to be willing to recognize them.
I love you all. Please keep Sister V--'s family in your prayers.
Love,
Sister Fleck
Monday, August 18, 2014
A Temple Trip
This week was great! I guess since last week was a little weird you already know about Monday and Tuesday.
On Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market and had a lesson with ---. He is so cool. A couple of times ago when we taught him we talked about the priesthood and the importance of being baptized got brought up. --- mentioned that he had already been baptized, so we told him that we believe that we are the only church that has God's authority to perform baptisms (aka the priesthood) and that we need to be baptized by the proper authority. So, this week we invited him to be baptized. I was really nervous that he would say that he was already baptized again, because I've had that happen before, and --- surprised me, as he always does, and said that he did want to be baptized! Summer is a busy time for him, it's Farmer's Market/Fair aka Kettle Corn Season, so he'd have to do it in the winter because he can't come to church and give his full attention to the lessons right now, but still, HE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED! PETE, YOU ARE SO COOL!!!!
On Thursday we had exchanges and I went to Mountain Grove with Sister H---, it was a lot of fun. Sister H--- is one of the sisters that took mine and Sister S---'s places in Pawhuska, so I was able to ask her how Pawhuska was doing when she left. It was so much fun to hear how everyone was doing and talk and laugh about all the people there. Pawhuska is such a special place. (:
On Friday we did service at the Christian Foundation and we got this game there called Facts-A-Nation, it's a trivia game and all of the questions are about America. It is so much fun! Sister S--- and I LOVE it!!! Ha-ha! We had a lesson with --- that evening and brought along one of the young women. Her name is ---, she's ---'s daughter, and she is a hoot. She wants to serve a mission when she's 19 (she is currently 15), and she will be a fantabulous missionary!!! We talked with --- about temples and Family History
On Saturday, Saturday was wonderful. We got to go to the St. Louis Temple with --- !!!! Ozark is technically in the Kansas City temple district, but Kansas City was closed for cleaning so we got to go to St. Louis!!! --- was invited by the YSA ward, so we went with them, it was a lot of fun! She made friends and we're hoping that now she will want to go to some of the YSA activities. The Sister working in the baptistery asked if it was anyone first time at the temple, of course, Sister S--- and I quickly said "It's ---'s first time!!" The Sister pulled --- aside and told her "Welcome to the Lord's House." Then she explained how important the work we do in temples is. When we were watching her do the baptisms we were sitting right so we could see her face when she came up out of the water, and each time she came up she had the biggest smile! It was so neat to be able to be a part of that with her.
It was so wonderful to be in the temple. I feel like I haven't gone in such a long time and I am so grateful that --- wanted us to be apart of such a special day.
I hope you all have a great week. Remember how much Heavenly Father loves each one of you. We are beloved children of our Heavenly Father. He knows each of you personally and wants you to be truly, eternally happy.
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
P.S. Heads up, Transfer calls are on Saturday, YIKES!!!
On Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market and had a lesson with ---. He is so cool. A couple of times ago when we taught him we talked about the priesthood and the importance of being baptized got brought up. --- mentioned that he had already been baptized, so we told him that we believe that we are the only church that has God's authority to perform baptisms (aka the priesthood) and that we need to be baptized by the proper authority. So, this week we invited him to be baptized. I was really nervous that he would say that he was already baptized again, because I've had that happen before, and --- surprised me, as he always does, and said that he did want to be baptized! Summer is a busy time for him, it's Farmer's Market/Fair aka Kettle Corn Season, so he'd have to do it in the winter because he can't come to church and give his full attention to the lessons right now, but still, HE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED! PETE, YOU ARE SO COOL!!!!
On Thursday we had exchanges and I went to Mountain Grove with Sister H---, it was a lot of fun. Sister H--- is one of the sisters that took mine and Sister S---'s places in Pawhuska, so I was able to ask her how Pawhuska was doing when she left. It was so much fun to hear how everyone was doing and talk and laugh about all the people there. Pawhuska is such a special place. (:
On Friday we did service at the Christian Foundation and we got this game there called Facts-A-Nation, it's a trivia game and all of the questions are about America. It is so much fun! Sister S--- and I LOVE it!!! Ha-ha! We had a lesson with --- that evening and brought along one of the young women. Her name is ---, she's ---'s daughter, and she is a hoot. She wants to serve a mission when she's 19 (she is currently 15), and she will be a fantabulous missionary!!! We talked with --- about temples and Family History
On Saturday, Saturday was wonderful. We got to go to the St. Louis Temple with --- !!!! Ozark is technically in the Kansas City temple district, but Kansas City was closed for cleaning so we got to go to St. Louis!!! --- was invited by the YSA ward, so we went with them, it was a lot of fun! She made friends and we're hoping that now she will want to go to some of the YSA activities. The Sister working in the baptistery asked if it was anyone first time at the temple, of course, Sister S--- and I quickly said "It's ---'s first time!!" The Sister pulled --- aside and told her "Welcome to the Lord's House." Then she explained how important the work we do in temples is. When we were watching her do the baptisms we were sitting right so we could see her face when she came up out of the water, and each time she came up she had the biggest smile! It was so neat to be able to be a part of that with her.
It was so wonderful to be in the temple. I feel like I haven't gone in such a long time and I am so grateful that --- wanted us to be apart of such a special day.
I hope you all have a great week. Remember how much Heavenly Father loves each one of you. We are beloved children of our Heavenly Father. He knows each of you personally and wants you to be truly, eternally happy.
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
P.S. Heads up, Transfer calls are on Saturday, YIKES!!!
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
A Baptism, Skirts and Branson!
This week was great!
On Monday --- got surgery ): so we went to visit her on Tuesday. She was doing well, just a little groggy!
Later that day we helped a Less-Active Member with her garage sale, she has a lot of collectible type stuff she's trying to get rid of. She runs a nursing home from her house and whenever one of her patients passes away the family just leaves the clothes with Sister ----, so she has this trailer and the back half is full of clothes! She let us "go shopping", it was a lot of fun. I got a skirt, and a dress and there is another dress that I didn't get that I am going to have to go back for!
On Thursday we had interviews with President Shumway. They went really well. He invited me to start over on the Book of Mormon and finish it by the Zone Conference in December. I was in Helaman, and now I'm in 1st Nephi. I am reading 5 pages a day, but if I finish those 5 pages and have a few minutes to spare somewhere (which are few and far between), I'll read in Helaman.
Friday was a fun day! Brother --- was home, and we were having a lesson with ---, so we asked him to come with us since he's a ward missionary and rarely gets to do things with his calling. We also had ---'s Baptism! YAY!!! It was a great baptism! Since she's 18 the YSA Bishop, Missionaries and Ward Mission Leader came and guess what? The YSA ward is having a temple trip on Saturday (16th) and they invited ---! She got her recommend on Sunday and WE GET TO GO WITH HER!! YAYA!!
On Saturday we had dinner with the ---, they invited a new member and her family, and their neighbor that is a potential investigator, ---. It was really cool. We were able to teach the Plan of Salvation.
Yesterday was (weirdly enough) a normal day because we had a Zone outing today. We went to Branson and saw a show, The Brett Show. It was really good, the Bretts are a family that perform together. They are members, the show was really good! It was really weird to be there though! It was all music we normally wouldn't listen to on our missions!!
They shared a little bit of the gospel at the end, they sang Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art and had pictures of Christ, showing the pictures were all from the LDS Gospel Library. I thought it was really cool that they were able to use their talents to share their testimonies and the gospel in such a big way!! Heavenly Father has given us all talents and we can use those talents to share the gospel!
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Fleck! ♥
On Monday --- got surgery ): so we went to visit her on Tuesday. She was doing well, just a little groggy!
Later that day we helped a Less-Active Member with her garage sale, she has a lot of collectible type stuff she's trying to get rid of. She runs a nursing home from her house and whenever one of her patients passes away the family just leaves the clothes with Sister ----, so she has this trailer and the back half is full of clothes! She let us "go shopping", it was a lot of fun. I got a skirt, and a dress and there is another dress that I didn't get that I am going to have to go back for!
On Thursday we had interviews with President Shumway. They went really well. He invited me to start over on the Book of Mormon and finish it by the Zone Conference in December. I was in Helaman, and now I'm in 1st Nephi. I am reading 5 pages a day, but if I finish those 5 pages and have a few minutes to spare somewhere (which are few and far between), I'll read in Helaman.
Friday was a fun day! Brother --- was home, and we were having a lesson with ---, so we asked him to come with us since he's a ward missionary and rarely gets to do things with his calling. We also had ---'s Baptism! YAY!!! It was a great baptism! Since she's 18 the YSA Bishop, Missionaries and Ward Mission Leader came and guess what? The YSA ward is having a temple trip on Saturday (16th) and they invited ---! She got her recommend on Sunday and WE GET TO GO WITH HER!! YAYA!!
On Saturday we had dinner with the ---, they invited a new member and her family, and their neighbor that is a potential investigator, ---. It was really cool. We were able to teach the Plan of Salvation.
Yesterday was (weirdly enough) a normal day because we had a Zone outing today. We went to Branson and saw a show, The Brett Show. It was really good, the Bretts are a family that perform together. They are members, the show was really good! It was really weird to be there though! It was all music we normally wouldn't listen to on our missions!!
They shared a little bit of the gospel at the end, they sang Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art and had pictures of Christ, showing the pictures were all from the LDS Gospel Library. I thought it was really cool that they were able to use their talents to share their testimonies and the gospel in such a big way!! Heavenly Father has given us all talents and we can use those talents to share the gospel!
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Fleck! ♥
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Sweet Baptism! ♥
This week was great! On Monday we had dinner with a member, but they live way out in the boundaries, fortunately, they invited Brother --- and ---, so they gave us a ride.
On Tuesday we did a mini bread delivery with Sister --- *only* (I say only sarcastically) five loaves of bread. We did an extra one because last week Sister S--- and I had dinner with some members who had recently moved into the ward and we told them we would come by with Sister --- bread sometime. We really had every intention of doing so, but when we delivered bread that week we had a really awesome list, normally we have one or two loaves that we don't know who to take to. Anyway, they (jokingly) went up to Sister --- at church and said "We were promised bread and we didn't get any!" (Jokingly I promise! All in good fun!!) So, Sister --- made a mini batch so we could take some to them!
On Wednesday we were able to have a mini lesson with P--- the Popcorn Man. It sprinkled all day, which doesn't sound like too big of a deal, but the grass was really wet and by the time we went to our next appointment my shoes were soaked! They were wet for three days! Fortunately, I have other pairs that I wore.
Thursday was a super service day! We went to the women's shelter that we started volunteering at, and then helped a member start painting in her new house. After that and dinner we had a lesson with Maddie! We went over the baptismal interview questions! She is so ready!!!
On Friday we had exchanges, I stayed in Ozark with Sister S---, she is in Mountain Grove now, and on the way back from picking up Sister S--/dropping off Sister S--- we stopped to visit an old friend of Sister ---'s (that's right, not only does Sister --- make 10 loaves of bread for us to deliver every week, but she drives us two and a half hours (one way) for exchanges!!). We helped a member get ready for a massive garage sale that she's having. She has a lot of stuff, and just wants to get rid of a lot of it!
Saturday was a special day (I hope you're humming the primary song now), it was ---'S BAPTISM!!! She was so excited! When I saw her after she got changed into her jumpsuit I almost cried! Her mom (non-member) and neighbor (also not a member) came. --- (her mom) was completely focused, I don't know if she blinked, focused, on whoever was giving the talk, or whatever was happening. It was great! While --- was changing after the baptism we showed the I Am A Child of God, Mormon Message (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JOrcqqpHCt8), she came out at the very end. Brother --- (the man who did the baptism) took a little bit longer, while we were waiting for him ---(girl that got baptized) got up and gave Sister Stockhoff and I a hug, then Sister ---, then Sister ---(husband baptized her) (The ---'s taught her grandma when they were on their mission and came all the way from Illinois (I think) to be at/perform the baptism!), her mom, grandma, and a few other people. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. They did the confirmation that day so Brother --- could do it, since they had to leave Saturday evening. It was so good!! :D
After the baptism we met with the ---'s, that went really well. We talked about Lehi's Dream. They asked some really awesome questions that got me thinking about it in a way I never had before! i.e. one of the boys asked if you could eat more than one of the fruit, Sister --- said that she thinks you could eat as much as you wanted because you can never fill up on the Love of God. Whoa.
In Testimony meeting on Sunday both --- and --- bore their testimonies. They were both so sincere! It was great!
After church --- had her baptismal interview, she did great! We also got to meet with Bishop, which we have been needing to do for a while. It was a great meeting!
This week was splendiforous. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Sister Fleck
On Tuesday we did a mini bread delivery with Sister --- *only* (I say only sarcastically) five loaves of bread. We did an extra one because last week Sister S--- and I had dinner with some members who had recently moved into the ward and we told them we would come by with Sister --- bread sometime. We really had every intention of doing so, but when we delivered bread that week we had a really awesome list, normally we have one or two loaves that we don't know who to take to. Anyway, they (jokingly) went up to Sister --- at church and said "We were promised bread and we didn't get any!" (Jokingly I promise! All in good fun!!) So, Sister --- made a mini batch so we could take some to them!
On Wednesday we were able to have a mini lesson with P--- the Popcorn Man. It sprinkled all day, which doesn't sound like too big of a deal, but the grass was really wet and by the time we went to our next appointment my shoes were soaked! They were wet for three days! Fortunately, I have other pairs that I wore.
Thursday was a super service day! We went to the women's shelter that we started volunteering at, and then helped a member start painting in her new house. After that and dinner we had a lesson with Maddie! We went over the baptismal interview questions! She is so ready!!!
On Friday we had exchanges, I stayed in Ozark with Sister S---, she is in Mountain Grove now, and on the way back from picking up Sister S--/dropping off Sister S--- we stopped to visit an old friend of Sister ---'s (that's right, not only does Sister --- make 10 loaves of bread for us to deliver every week, but she drives us two and a half hours (one way) for exchanges!!). We helped a member get ready for a massive garage sale that she's having. She has a lot of stuff, and just wants to get rid of a lot of it!
Saturday was a special day (I hope you're humming the primary song now), it was ---'S BAPTISM!!! She was so excited! When I saw her after she got changed into her jumpsuit I almost cried! Her mom (non-member) and neighbor (also not a member) came. --- (her mom) was completely focused, I don't know if she blinked, focused, on whoever was giving the talk, or whatever was happening. It was great! While --- was changing after the baptism we showed the I Am A Child of God, Mormon Message (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JOrcqqpHCt8), she came out at the very end. Brother --- (the man who did the baptism) took a little bit longer, while we were waiting for him ---(girl that got baptized) got up and gave Sister Stockhoff and I a hug, then Sister ---, then Sister ---(husband baptized her) (The ---'s taught her grandma when they were on their mission and came all the way from Illinois (I think) to be at/perform the baptism!), her mom, grandma, and a few other people. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. They did the confirmation that day so Brother --- could do it, since they had to leave Saturday evening. It was so good!! :D
After the baptism we met with the ---'s, that went really well. We talked about Lehi's Dream. They asked some really awesome questions that got me thinking about it in a way I never had before! i.e. one of the boys asked if you could eat more than one of the fruit, Sister --- said that she thinks you could eat as much as you wanted because you can never fill up on the Love of God. Whoa.
In Testimony meeting on Sunday both --- and --- bore their testimonies. They were both so sincere! It was great!
After church --- had her baptismal interview, she did great! We also got to meet with Bishop, which we have been needing to do for a while. It was a great meeting!
This week was splendiforous. I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Sister Fleck
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
What even happened this week? I don't really know...
This week was pretty normal. Nothing too eventful... or uneventful.
On Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market, we pretty much go to talk to P--- the Popcorn man now. He has finished the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and said it is the most accurate book about Christ that he has ever read... what? P---! YOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY!!!! He doesn't live in our area, but he said he's never home because he's always doing popcorn stuff, so we asked him if we came to the Farmers Market a little early (when he's setting up) if we could talk with him about the Book of Mormon and about our beliefs, and he said yes! Yay P---!
On Thursday there was a Pioneer Day multi-ward party. It was weird to think back home there were parades and fireworks and people had the day off and in Missouri it was just a normal day! The party was a lot of fun. We went with the Ward Mission Leader's wife and our investigator ----.
On Friday we delivered bread with Sister ---. It was a really good bread day. We saw a lot of people and had good talks with everyone we saw!
On Saturday --- had her baptismal interview. She was kind of nervous, but she did awesome! Just like we knew she would ;) she is such a sweetie! We also saw ---- and the ----! All of the ingredients for a really good day! After the interview, --- called us and asked if we could help her move. --- said she would have done it herself, but she had done that on Friday, and hurt her hip. So we gladly went over and helped her. --- was busy and could only help at the end, and --- could barely walk, so she stayed in the trailer and organized the boxes.
On Sunday we helped --- and --- move, I know it was a Sunday, but it was kind of a crazy situation and that was the only day their landlord would let them move their stuff in. Their stuff is there, but they can't move in until the first. Someone announced it in the priesthood and we ended up having 15 people total helping! It got done so fast! It was great! It took about half an hour to unpack what it took Sister S--- and me an hour and a half to pack about half of (I hope that sentence makes sense).
Anyway, this week was a lot of fun. We did lots of service, which we both love!
On Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market, we pretty much go to talk to P--- the Popcorn man now. He has finished the Book of Mormon, prayed about it, and said it is the most accurate book about Christ that he has ever read... what? P---! YOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY!!!! He doesn't live in our area, but he said he's never home because he's always doing popcorn stuff, so we asked him if we came to the Farmers Market a little early (when he's setting up) if we could talk with him about the Book of Mormon and about our beliefs, and he said yes! Yay P---!
On Thursday there was a Pioneer Day multi-ward party. It was weird to think back home there were parades and fireworks and people had the day off and in Missouri it was just a normal day! The party was a lot of fun. We went with the Ward Mission Leader's wife and our investigator ----.
On Friday we delivered bread with Sister ---. It was a really good bread day. We saw a lot of people and had good talks with everyone we saw!
On Saturday --- had her baptismal interview. She was kind of nervous, but she did awesome! Just like we knew she would ;) she is such a sweetie! We also saw ---- and the ----! All of the ingredients for a really good day! After the interview, --- called us and asked if we could help her move. --- said she would have done it herself, but she had done that on Friday, and hurt her hip. So we gladly went over and helped her. --- was busy and could only help at the end, and --- could barely walk, so she stayed in the trailer and organized the boxes.
On Sunday we helped --- and --- move, I know it was a Sunday, but it was kind of a crazy situation and that was the only day their landlord would let them move their stuff in. Their stuff is there, but they can't move in until the first. Someone announced it in the priesthood and we ended up having 15 people total helping! It got done so fast! It was great! It took about half an hour to unpack what it took Sister S--- and me an hour and a half to pack about half of (I hope that sentence makes sense).
Anyway, this week was a lot of fun. We did lots of service, which we both love!
Oops, I forgot some stuff I wanted to add at the end. I am so grateful for service! It is such a good way to show others how much you care! It is such a crucial part to missionary work too! I know that Heavenly Father loves it when we do service, and I know that because of how I feel when I serve others! I get the best warm-fuzzy feelings! I am so grateful for that confirmation from the Holy Ghost that I've done a good thing! I challenge you all to do at least one act of service for someone! Big, or small, but make it something you wouldn't normally do. In other words, if you have kids making them dinner tonight wouldn't count ;) The warm fuzzy feelings will be worth it!
Sorry for all the extra messages today! I've been a little forgetful today!! HAHA
Love,
Sister Fleck
Monday, July 21, 2014
A Baptism!
This week was crazy!
This transfer and last transfer President Shumway has had a calling called "Traveling Sisters", basically there are two Sister Training Leaders who travel the whole mission for two transfers and go on exchanges with all the sisters. Since they don't have an actual area, though, they are both in the area of the sisters they are visiting. So there are two sets of missionaries in an area. On Sunday they texted us and told us they would be in Ozark on Wednesday. Needless to say, we were a little stressed! We had to plan for two days, in one! We also wanted both plans to keep us busy all day, and we have a hard time keeping ourselves busy from day to day. We got it all worked out though. The sisters came Wednesday morning, I was with Sister G--- and Sister S--- was with Sister M---. It was kind of cool because Sister M--- was Sister S---'s trainer! Sister G--- and I delivered bread with Sister ---. We found a couple of less-actives that we hadn't contacted yet, so that was cool! Sister S--- and Sister M--- found one too, it's an awesome story!
--- (one of our investigators) and his wife (an awesome member) --- have been looking for a new place to rent so they can move out of her sister's house. They found one that they were pretty confident would rent to them, so they told us the address so we could drive by and see it. Wednesday morning I was looking through the directory and I noticed that there was a less-active who's address was the same as the place --- and --- were going to rent. Sister S--- went by to see if she could find out from the neighbors where they had moved (we already knew the house was empty), so she knocked on one neighbors door and asked if they knew their neighbor, he said they had been gone for a year. She knocked on the other door and the man that answered said the same thing. Sister M--- asked Sister S--- what the last name of the person they were looking for was and Sister S--- told her it was ---, the man said "Well, my last name is ---(same last name), and my wife is a Mormon." WHAT?!?!?!?!? They're older, and don't have a car, but she has been wanting to get back in touch with the church! I thought it was cool that even though it was wrong on the directory it was only a house off! Also, it's kind of cool that Heavenly Father lead --- and --- to that house, and that because they are moving there, we found a less-active that we were looking for!
We went to the Farmer's Market and talked to P--- the Popcorn Man, he has read the Book of Mormon all the way to Helaman! WHAAAAAT? Way to go P---! He said he would call the missionaries in his area when he finished it! Lucky Republic Elders! He'll call them and say "I've read all of the Book of Mormon" he'll probably tell them he wants to be baptized too!
On Thursday we got a new investigator, ---. Last Wednesday we went to see a less-active lady, she wasn't there, but another member of the ward was (the less-active lady runs a small retirement center kind of, she has about 3 patients and they can't be left alone, so if she has to run an errand she has to have someone come sit with them), it was cool because when she answered the door and invited us in she said "I've been needing to talk to you, sisters! I have someone for you to teach!" Her niece just moved in with her parents (the girl's grandparents), the girl (who is 18) is moving out of her parents house, but she loves visiting her aunt and grandparents, because of the spirit and the love that she felt there. Now that she's 18 she wants to start going to church and get baptized!!! After we finished the lesson they brought up setting a date, so we invited her to pray about a date and her aunt said that she had asked how soon she could get baptized! WHAAAAT????
Saturday was a magical day! --- GOT BAPTIZED!!! YAAAAY!!! --- getting baptized has been a three year process. From the sounds of it, he's wanted to get baptized most of the time, but there have been different things holding him back, so Sister S--- and I are just the missionaries that were blessed enough to be here when it finally happened! It was awesome! --- is so amazing and has such a strong spirit! He got confirmed on Sunday, and we were just so excited all day, both days! He's now officially a member of the church!
On Sunday we also saw --- again and had a superb lesson! In Relief Society we have a missionary moment, so we get up and make any announcements that we might have and then people can share any missionary moments they had this week and --- raised her hand (which is kind of awesome because she's super shy) and said "I had my first lesson with the sisters this week!" :') I get all teary eyed and have warm fuzzies just thinking about it!
We also saw the ---'s (the family of 5) and finally got to Joseph Smith, sometimes it takes a while to get there, it was really good and very powerful when we shared the First Vision.
It's so cool though, all of our solid investigators and recent converts are all from member referrals. I've noticed that as a missionary, I don't want the members to help me with my missionary work, I want to help them with theirs. As missionaries, we need members! I think when we imagine missionaries, we normally imagine them tracting, and there are a lot of really awesome people to found through tracting, but it isn't the most effective way. The majority of the investigators I've known that are member referrals, get baptized, where as very few investigators found through tracting end up getting baptized.
The Ozark ward has set a goal for the ward to read Preach My Gospel together. They decided that each family should read 20 pages a month and that their first FHE every month should be from Preach My Gospel. I think this is a fabulous goal! I am so excited to see how much more excited the members get about missionary work! Preach My Gospel is awesome and it has a lot of great things for everyone, not just full time missionaries! I would like to extend this same invitation to all of you! Read Preach My Gospel! 20 pages a month is not much! That isn't even a page a day! Just 5 pages a week! How easy? I promise you will get more excited about missionary work, and you will find that you have more opportunities to share the gospel! I would also like to invite you to take Elder Ballard's invitation to "Prayerfully set a date with your family to have someone in your home for the missionaries to teach." (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/the-essential-role-of-member-missionary-work?lang=eng) I know as you read Preach My Gospel that you will find that person and you will have the courage to invite them to meet the missionaries in your area!
Love,
Sister Fleck
This transfer and last transfer President Shumway has had a calling called "Traveling Sisters", basically there are two Sister Training Leaders who travel the whole mission for two transfers and go on exchanges with all the sisters. Since they don't have an actual area, though, they are both in the area of the sisters they are visiting. So there are two sets of missionaries in an area. On Sunday they texted us and told us they would be in Ozark on Wednesday. Needless to say, we were a little stressed! We had to plan for two days, in one! We also wanted both plans to keep us busy all day, and we have a hard time keeping ourselves busy from day to day. We got it all worked out though. The sisters came Wednesday morning, I was with Sister G--- and Sister S--- was with Sister M---. It was kind of cool because Sister M--- was Sister S---'s trainer! Sister G--- and I delivered bread with Sister ---. We found a couple of less-actives that we hadn't contacted yet, so that was cool! Sister S--- and Sister M--- found one too, it's an awesome story!
--- (one of our investigators) and his wife (an awesome member) --- have been looking for a new place to rent so they can move out of her sister's house. They found one that they were pretty confident would rent to them, so they told us the address so we could drive by and see it. Wednesday morning I was looking through the directory and I noticed that there was a less-active who's address was the same as the place --- and --- were going to rent. Sister S--- went by to see if she could find out from the neighbors where they had moved (we already knew the house was empty), so she knocked on one neighbors door and asked if they knew their neighbor, he said they had been gone for a year. She knocked on the other door and the man that answered said the same thing. Sister M--- asked Sister S--- what the last name of the person they were looking for was and Sister S--- told her it was ---, the man said "Well, my last name is ---(same last name), and my wife is a Mormon." WHAT?!?!?!?!? They're older, and don't have a car, but she has been wanting to get back in touch with the church! I thought it was cool that even though it was wrong on the directory it was only a house off! Also, it's kind of cool that Heavenly Father lead --- and --- to that house, and that because they are moving there, we found a less-active that we were looking for!
We went to the Farmer's Market and talked to P--- the Popcorn Man, he has read the Book of Mormon all the way to Helaman! WHAAAAAT? Way to go P---! He said he would call the missionaries in his area when he finished it! Lucky Republic Elders! He'll call them and say "I've read all of the Book of Mormon" he'll probably tell them he wants to be baptized too!
On Thursday we got a new investigator, ---. Last Wednesday we went to see a less-active lady, she wasn't there, but another member of the ward was (the less-active lady runs a small retirement center kind of, she has about 3 patients and they can't be left alone, so if she has to run an errand she has to have someone come sit with them), it was cool because when she answered the door and invited us in she said "I've been needing to talk to you, sisters! I have someone for you to teach!" Her niece just moved in with her parents (the girl's grandparents), the girl (who is 18) is moving out of her parents house, but she loves visiting her aunt and grandparents, because of the spirit and the love that she felt there. Now that she's 18 she wants to start going to church and get baptized!!! After we finished the lesson they brought up setting a date, so we invited her to pray about a date and her aunt said that she had asked how soon she could get baptized! WHAAAAT????
Saturday was a magical day! --- GOT BAPTIZED!!! YAAAAY!!! --- getting baptized has been a three year process. From the sounds of it, he's wanted to get baptized most of the time, but there have been different things holding him back, so Sister S--- and I are just the missionaries that were blessed enough to be here when it finally happened! It was awesome! --- is so amazing and has such a strong spirit! He got confirmed on Sunday, and we were just so excited all day, both days! He's now officially a member of the church!
On Sunday we also saw --- again and had a superb lesson! In Relief Society we have a missionary moment, so we get up and make any announcements that we might have and then people can share any missionary moments they had this week and --- raised her hand (which is kind of awesome because she's super shy) and said "I had my first lesson with the sisters this week!" :') I get all teary eyed and have warm fuzzies just thinking about it!
We also saw the ---'s (the family of 5) and finally got to Joseph Smith, sometimes it takes a while to get there, it was really good and very powerful when we shared the First Vision.
It's so cool though, all of our solid investigators and recent converts are all from member referrals. I've noticed that as a missionary, I don't want the members to help me with my missionary work, I want to help them with theirs. As missionaries, we need members! I think when we imagine missionaries, we normally imagine them tracting, and there are a lot of really awesome people to found through tracting, but it isn't the most effective way. The majority of the investigators I've known that are member referrals, get baptized, where as very few investigators found through tracting end up getting baptized.
The Ozark ward has set a goal for the ward to read Preach My Gospel together. They decided that each family should read 20 pages a month and that their first FHE every month should be from Preach My Gospel. I think this is a fabulous goal! I am so excited to see how much more excited the members get about missionary work! Preach My Gospel is awesome and it has a lot of great things for everyone, not just full time missionaries! I would like to extend this same invitation to all of you! Read Preach My Gospel! 20 pages a month is not much! That isn't even a page a day! Just 5 pages a week! How easy? I promise you will get more excited about missionary work, and you will find that you have more opportunities to share the gospel! I would also like to invite you to take Elder Ballard's invitation to "Prayerfully set a date with your family to have someone in your home for the missionaries to teach." (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/the-essential-role-of-member-missionary-work?lang=eng) I know as you read Preach My Gospel that you will find that person and you will have the courage to invite them to meet the missionaries in your area!
Love,
Sister Fleck
Monday, July 14, 2014
Another week in the life of a missionary!
This week was crazy long for some reason! It felt like two or three weeks!
Monday was a lot of fun. We went mini golfing with the Nixa elders, and another set of elders (I can't remember where they are...) It was a lot of fun. Sister S and Elder N were playing for her bag strap (long... weird story), Sister S lost, but Elder N let her keep her strap haha. We had dinner with Brother --- and ---, they took us to Nakato, a really delicious sushi restaurant :') It was so so good! Brother ---ok us to see his plane, that was really cool, we got to sit in it, but not fly, he said he couldn't fly it right now (for one reason or another), plus that's defiantly against the rules.
After that we went to go and see ----... We knocked on the door, --- answered, said, "one second," and came back with the copies of the Book of Mormon, Restoration pamphlets, and Restoration DVD that we had given them... he said that it wasn't time right now and that there was too much going on and things were just too stressful. We insisted that they keep the stuff, they need it more than we do. It was really hard. I hadn't cried over a dropped investigator yet, and now I have. It happens, though, and I know they'll find the way back one day. I am confident of that.
On Thursday, some plans fell through, so we went to visit a less-active family. The mom wasn't home, but we sat on the porch with the girls and talked to them. We ended up talking about how they stand up for their beliefs at school. I really admire them! They're pretty strong!
Friday was Zone Training Meeting, it was awesome! Then, our investigator --- had... HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW!! Woohoo!! We also had a lesson with the family that we've been teaching, it went really well. The dad asks awesome questions! They all pay attention, even the 11 and 13 year old!
On Saturday we delivered bread with Sister ---, after dinner we went to ---'s because transfer calls were later that night and we wanted to be in our favorite place before transfer calls so we would be distracted and not nervous. When we got home, we planned, got ready for bed, then went upstairs and sat with --- while we waited for the Zone Leaders to call or text. After an alarm to text the ward mission leader, and a reply from him, gave us a heart attack because we thought both of them were the Zone Leaders.... we got a text from the real zone leaders... saying... WE'RE BOTH STAYING!!!!! YAY!!!
I hope you all have a great week! Remember how much Heavenly Father loves you!
Monday was a lot of fun. We went mini golfing with the Nixa elders, and another set of elders (I can't remember where they are...) It was a lot of fun. Sister S and Elder N were playing for her bag strap (long... weird story), Sister S lost, but Elder N let her keep her strap haha. We had dinner with Brother --- and ---, they took us to Nakato, a really delicious sushi restaurant :') It was so so good! Brother ---ok us to see his plane, that was really cool, we got to sit in it, but not fly, he said he couldn't fly it right now (for one reason or another), plus that's defiantly against the rules.
After that we went to go and see ----... We knocked on the door, --- answered, said, "one second," and came back with the copies of the Book of Mormon, Restoration pamphlets, and Restoration DVD that we had given them... he said that it wasn't time right now and that there was too much going on and things were just too stressful. We insisted that they keep the stuff, they need it more than we do. It was really hard. I hadn't cried over a dropped investigator yet, and now I have. It happens, though, and I know they'll find the way back one day. I am confident of that.
On Thursday, some plans fell through, so we went to visit a less-active family. The mom wasn't home, but we sat on the porch with the girls and talked to them. We ended up talking about how they stand up for their beliefs at school. I really admire them! They're pretty strong!
Friday was Zone Training Meeting, it was awesome! Then, our investigator --- had... HIS BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW!! Woohoo!! We also had a lesson with the family that we've been teaching, it went really well. The dad asks awesome questions! They all pay attention, even the 11 and 13 year old!
On Saturday we delivered bread with Sister ---, after dinner we went to ---'s because transfer calls were later that night and we wanted to be in our favorite place before transfer calls so we would be distracted and not nervous. When we got home, we planned, got ready for bed, then went upstairs and sat with --- while we waited for the Zone Leaders to call or text. After an alarm to text the ward mission leader, and a reply from him, gave us a heart attack because we thought both of them were the Zone Leaders.... we got a text from the real zone leaders... saying... WE'RE BOTH STAYING!!!!! YAY!!!
I hope you all have a great week! Remember how much Heavenly Father loves you!
Sister Fleck did have a PS later: OH! On Wednesday we went to see a less-active lady, she wasn't there, but another member of the ward was (the less-active lady runs a small retirement center kind of, she has about 3 patients and they can't be left alone, so if she has to run an errand she has to have someone, come sit with them), it was cool because when she answered the door and invited us in she said "I've been needing to talk to you, sisters! I have someone for you to teach!" Her niece is moving in with her parents (who live in the ward too), the girl (who is 18) is moving out of her parents' house, but she loves visiting her aunt and grandparents, and loved going to church with them whenever she visited. Now that she's 18 she wants to get baptized!!!
Pictures :)
Sister S, --- and I at Nakato
Yummy Rolls at Nakato (oh how she was spoiled!)
Sister S and I in Brother ---' plane!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Happy 4th of July!
This week was a lot of fun! There were hard days, but there were also magnificent days!
Wednesday was one of those hard days. We had planned to see our investigator, Zac, who is getting baptized in 2 weeks. When we knocked on the door, no one answered. We were a little discouraged because we haven't seen him for a very long time, his life is super busy, and we really needed to see him to go over stuff that he wanted to review before his baptism. We didn't have anything else that we could think of to do, so we decided we might as well walk/tract. We ended up doing that for about 2 hours! Not many people answered because it was the middle of the day and they were at work... the few that did answer weren't interested, nice, but not interested. We called Sister Worley to come pick us up because we didn't really know where we were in relation to our car. She came and got us and took us to a lesson that we were going to be having with her. On Monday we found two less-actives who hadn't been contacted, we had an appointment with one of them on Wednesday, when we got to his house there was a note on the door that said that he had to go somewhere, he considered himself invited to church, but didn't want to meet with us. After that we had dinner with some pretty awesome members who are trying really hard to be awesome member missionaries! After dinner we went to the Farmer's Market because we had promised Pete the Popcorn Man that we would come back and buy popcorn. So, we found it his booth, and started talking to him. We asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon at all and he said he read 3 Nephi, then he went to the beginning, read 1 Nephi and he was now in the middle of 2 Nephi, WHAT? Way to be future Brother Pete the Popcorn Man! So, Wednesday evening was pretty good, but the day was kind of poopy.
On Thursday we went on exchanges and I stayed in Ozark with Sister Stout, the Sister Training Leader. We saw a lot of people, but we also had time that I was struggling to figure out who to see. It was really good though. Sister Stout is awesome! She is a great teacher!
On the 4th of July I decided to study some cool stuff in the Book of Mormon about America, instead of where I was. I found some pretty cool stuff! I started in 1 Nephi 13:9-20, because I knew that's when Nephi saw the Colonizing of America and cool stuff like that, then I followed some footnotes and found cool stuff!
Ether 2:12
2 Nephi 10:10-11
3 Nephi 21:4
I just think it's cool that Heavenly Father prepared this place for us! He helped us gain the freedom we needed so that the gospel could be restored and the church could make it! It wasn't easy, there were lots of struggles along the way, for both America and the church, but both made it because Heavenly Father was paving the way all along!!
Sister Stockhoff and I made 4th of July cookies and took them to people, that was a lot of fun! When we had finished handing out cookies we went to a 4th of July party that some members were having, it was a lot of fun. There weren't as many non-members there as they were hoping, but Sister Stockhoff and I got to spend some time with some of the Young Women in the ward, we had a lot of fun!
Saturday night was awesome! We had a lesson with some potential investigators at a member's home. We met this family last week when we went over, and taught them about families. This week we talked about 3 Nephi 11 (what we invited them to read). We were able to make them investigators, so we had 5 new investigators (WHAAAT?) Plus, it's a whole family! We're teaching a whole family, all at once! Wahooo! It was a really good lesson. The members were great, they said the perfect things!
I hope you all had a fantasmical week, and are excited for the week to come, I know that it can be magical and wonderful!
Love,
Sister Fleck
Wednesday was one of those hard days. We had planned to see our investigator, Zac, who is getting baptized in 2 weeks. When we knocked on the door, no one answered. We were a little discouraged because we haven't seen him for a very long time, his life is super busy, and we really needed to see him to go over stuff that he wanted to review before his baptism. We didn't have anything else that we could think of to do, so we decided we might as well walk/tract. We ended up doing that for about 2 hours! Not many people answered because it was the middle of the day and they were at work... the few that did answer weren't interested, nice, but not interested. We called Sister Worley to come pick us up because we didn't really know where we were in relation to our car. She came and got us and took us to a lesson that we were going to be having with her. On Monday we found two less-actives who hadn't been contacted, we had an appointment with one of them on Wednesday, when we got to his house there was a note on the door that said that he had to go somewhere, he considered himself invited to church, but didn't want to meet with us. After that we had dinner with some pretty awesome members who are trying really hard to be awesome member missionaries! After dinner we went to the Farmer's Market because we had promised Pete the Popcorn Man that we would come back and buy popcorn. So, we found it his booth, and started talking to him. We asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon at all and he said he read 3 Nephi, then he went to the beginning, read 1 Nephi and he was now in the middle of 2 Nephi, WHAT? Way to be future Brother Pete the Popcorn Man! So, Wednesday evening was pretty good, but the day was kind of poopy.
On Thursday we went on exchanges and I stayed in Ozark with Sister Stout, the Sister Training Leader. We saw a lot of people, but we also had time that I was struggling to figure out who to see. It was really good though. Sister Stout is awesome! She is a great teacher!
On the 4th of July I decided to study some cool stuff in the Book of Mormon about America, instead of where I was. I found some pretty cool stuff! I started in 1 Nephi 13:9-20, because I knew that's when Nephi saw the Colonizing of America and cool stuff like that, then I followed some footnotes and found cool stuff!
Ether 2:12
2 Nephi 10:10-11
3 Nephi 21:4
I just think it's cool that Heavenly Father prepared this place for us! He helped us gain the freedom we needed so that the gospel could be restored and the church could make it! It wasn't easy, there were lots of struggles along the way, for both America and the church, but both made it because Heavenly Father was paving the way all along!!
Sister Stockhoff and I made 4th of July cookies and took them to people, that was a lot of fun! When we had finished handing out cookies we went to a 4th of July party that some members were having, it was a lot of fun. There weren't as many non-members there as they were hoping, but Sister Stockhoff and I got to spend some time with some of the Young Women in the ward, we had a lot of fun!
Saturday night was awesome! We had a lesson with some potential investigators at a member's home. We met this family last week when we went over, and taught them about families. This week we talked about 3 Nephi 11 (what we invited them to read). We were able to make them investigators, so we had 5 new investigators (WHAAAT?) Plus, it's a whole family! We're teaching a whole family, all at once! Wahooo! It was a really good lesson. The members were great, they said the perfect things!
I hope you all had a fantasmical week, and are excited for the week to come, I know that it can be magical and wonderful!
Love,
Sister Fleck
Monday, June 30, 2014
Sushi
This week was awesome! On Monday we had an Active Member lesson planned with our Ward Mission Leader and his family, that quickly turned into a member present FHE with our recent convert --- and her granddaughter --- who we are teaching. --- And our ward mission leader's daughter is the same age. It was great!
On Tuesday we had dinner with some less-actives, the ---, they are awesome! They're starting to come back to church, yay! Earlier in the day Sister --- texted us and asked us if she could come to a lesson with us after dinner! It was like a dream come true! A member asking us when they could come out with us!
On Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market again and talked to this guy at a popcorn stand, --- the Popcorn Man. He is really awesome, we didn't have any cash, so he gave us a free sample of popcorn and we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon! We had dinner with --- and Brother ---s' sister and brother-in-law, that was fun!
On Saturday we did bread delivery with Sister ---. We tried to find some less-actives we had never met before, none of them were home, but we found their houses and Sister S and I hadn't been able to find them before, so that was good! Sister --- took us out for dinner. We went to Springfield and she took us to a Chinese buffet, that had, you'll never believe it... SUSHI!!! I was so happy I could've cried!! I seriously pretty much only had sushi. I. Was. So. Happy.
Sunday was good, we were almost out of miles, so we were a little worried. After church we ate lunch with our ward mission leader, we brought our own food because we felt bad since we're basically going to invite ourselves. After that we drove to a potential investigator who lived really close. We weren't able to have a lesson, but we made contact, so that was good. Then we walked to a member's house that lived nearby. We got a drink, used the bathroom and shared a short message. During this time the District Leader texted us and told us that they would have some extra miles. The member drove us to our car and we drove to dinner. After dinner we had a SUPER AWESOME member present lesson.
During church one of the members, Sister ---, approached us and said that they were having some close friends over for dinner and she (the member) wanted us to come and share a message. So we went over, Brother --- told their friends why they invited us over and that they loved them (their friends) and wanted to share the gospel with them because of how much it has blessed their family. We had everyone say what they loved about families in general or their family specifically. The --- (parents and kids) all ended up bearing testimony of eternal families. Then we talked a little bit about the The Family: A Proclamation to the World (https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation). It was so great, then Brother --- invited them to continue meeting with us! Wow! It was great!
I am so grateful to be a part of a church that values families so much. Our teachings are centered on Jesus Christ, but they also all strengthen families! I know that families are important to Heavenly Father!
I hope you all have a marvelous week!
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
On Tuesday we had dinner with some less-actives, the ---, they are awesome! They're starting to come back to church, yay! Earlier in the day Sister --- texted us and asked us if she could come to a lesson with us after dinner! It was like a dream come true! A member asking us when they could come out with us!
On Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market again and talked to this guy at a popcorn stand, --- the Popcorn Man. He is really awesome, we didn't have any cash, so he gave us a free sample of popcorn and we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon! We had dinner with --- and Brother ---s' sister and brother-in-law, that was fun!
On Saturday we did bread delivery with Sister ---. We tried to find some less-actives we had never met before, none of them were home, but we found their houses and Sister S and I hadn't been able to find them before, so that was good! Sister --- took us out for dinner. We went to Springfield and she took us to a Chinese buffet, that had, you'll never believe it... SUSHI!!! I was so happy I could've cried!! I seriously pretty much only had sushi. I. Was. So. Happy.
Sunday was good, we were almost out of miles, so we were a little worried. After church we ate lunch with our ward mission leader, we brought our own food because we felt bad since we're basically going to invite ourselves. After that we drove to a potential investigator who lived really close. We weren't able to have a lesson, but we made contact, so that was good. Then we walked to a member's house that lived nearby. We got a drink, used the bathroom and shared a short message. During this time the District Leader texted us and told us that they would have some extra miles. The member drove us to our car and we drove to dinner. After dinner we had a SUPER AWESOME member present lesson.
During church one of the members, Sister ---, approached us and said that they were having some close friends over for dinner and she (the member) wanted us to come and share a message. So we went over, Brother --- told their friends why they invited us over and that they loved them (their friends) and wanted to share the gospel with them because of how much it has blessed their family. We had everyone say what they loved about families in general or their family specifically. The --- (parents and kids) all ended up bearing testimony of eternal families. Then we talked a little bit about the The Family: A Proclamation to the World (https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation). It was so great, then Brother --- invited them to continue meeting with us! Wow! It was great!
I am so grateful to be a part of a church that values families so much. Our teachings are centered on Jesus Christ, but they also all strengthen families! I know that families are important to Heavenly Father!
I hope you all have a marvelous week!
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
Monday, June 23, 2014
A Groundbreaking and a Wedding!
This week was super good! We had a lot of fun!
Every Wednesday Ozark has a little Farmer's Market, so we went there and walked around to find people to talk to! We couldn't stay long because our appointment before ran a little long and we had another appointment, we didn't want to be late for, but we still had a lot of fun.
On Thursday we had exchanges, I went to Marshfield with Sister B and Sister S stayed in Ozark with Sister S (our sister training leader). Marshfield was a lot of fun. The Sisters had a couple of members exchanges that day! The members were awesome and, as always, said perfect things. If the missionaries in your area ever approach you and ask you to come to a lesson, especially if they have a specific investigator that they want you to meet, go with them! You will have a good experience and investigators need fellowshippers!
On Friday we did some weekly planning, and then in the evening --- and --- took us to the Russel Stovers store here in town for my birthday and got us ice cream! It was so yummy!!
Saturday was a crazy day!! After we exercise I opened my birthday packages (I definitely only exercised for like 10 minutes!)! Thank you to everyone for the cards and gifts! You are all so nice!! :D Then we got ready, studied and went to.... THE GROUNDBREAKING!!! So, right now the Ozark ward drives to Springfield for church, which isn't that far, but what is kind of weird is that we're in the Springfield South Stake and we meet in the Springfield Stake building. So... awkward... not really, but it worked there. But now we're getting our own building! Yay! The Groundbreaking was awesome and really exciting! The building is going to be on this hill by the freeway, so it will be super easy to see from the freeway! YAY!
After the groundbreaking we saw one of our investigators who we haven't seen in a long time, so long in fact, that I've never met her!
Then, we went to a wedding! One of our investigators got married! Yay! --- (our investigator) got married to one of the members of the ward, Lori! Yay --- and ---!! It was a cute wedding, but the weather caused some problems. The ceremony started almost an hour late because she couldn't get in the car to get to the park where the wedding was going to be because it was raining! It stopped and she got there and it stayed dry just long enough for the ceremony! We all got under a pavilion that was at the park and then it rained off and on for the rest of the reception! Yikes!
Saturday was a lot of fun and by the time we got home we were exhausted!!
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Fleck
This one is perfect for this week for a few different reasons!
1. I have decided that Heavenly Father made the fireflies purely to bring people joy.
2. Yesterday we showed our investigator (who is under 12) the I am a Child of God, Mormon Message (https://www.lds.org/pages/i-am-a-child-of-god-mormon-message?lang=eng) and she loved it! She said it almost made her cry and then the rest of the time we were there she kept asking if we could watch it again.
Oh, the pictures!!!
1. Me breaking ground with a tiny shovel!
2. Sister S and I
3. At the wedding! (Left to right) Sister --- (one of the super awesome members in the ward. She gave us a ride to the wedding), Me, Sister S, ---, ---
4. Picture Sister S made for me for my birthday. That is Ron Weasley in the Tardis as The Doctor :)
Every Wednesday Ozark has a little Farmer's Market, so we went there and walked around to find people to talk to! We couldn't stay long because our appointment before ran a little long and we had another appointment, we didn't want to be late for, but we still had a lot of fun.
On Thursday we had exchanges, I went to Marshfield with Sister B and Sister S stayed in Ozark with Sister S (our sister training leader). Marshfield was a lot of fun. The Sisters had a couple of members exchanges that day! The members were awesome and, as always, said perfect things. If the missionaries in your area ever approach you and ask you to come to a lesson, especially if they have a specific investigator that they want you to meet, go with them! You will have a good experience and investigators need fellowshippers!
On Friday we did some weekly planning, and then in the evening --- and --- took us to the Russel Stovers store here in town for my birthday and got us ice cream! It was so yummy!!
Saturday was a crazy day!! After we exercise I opened my birthday packages (I definitely only exercised for like 10 minutes!)! Thank you to everyone for the cards and gifts! You are all so nice!! :D Then we got ready, studied and went to.... THE GROUNDBREAKING!!! So, right now the Ozark ward drives to Springfield for church, which isn't that far, but what is kind of weird is that we're in the Springfield South Stake and we meet in the Springfield Stake building. So... awkward... not really, but it worked there. But now we're getting our own building! Yay! The Groundbreaking was awesome and really exciting! The building is going to be on this hill by the freeway, so it will be super easy to see from the freeway! YAY!
After the groundbreaking we saw one of our investigators who we haven't seen in a long time, so long in fact, that I've never met her!
Then, we went to a wedding! One of our investigators got married! Yay! --- (our investigator) got married to one of the members of the ward, Lori! Yay --- and ---!! It was a cute wedding, but the weather caused some problems. The ceremony started almost an hour late because she couldn't get in the car to get to the park where the wedding was going to be because it was raining! It stopped and she got there and it stayed dry just long enough for the ceremony! We all got under a pavilion that was at the park and then it rained off and on for the rest of the reception! Yikes!
Saturday was a lot of fun and by the time we got home we were exhausted!!
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Fleck
This one is perfect for this week for a few different reasons!
1. I have decided that Heavenly Father made the fireflies purely to bring people joy.
2. Yesterday we showed our investigator (who is under 12) the I am a Child of God, Mormon Message (https://www.lds.org/pages/i-am-a-child-of-god-mormon-message?lang=eng) and she loved it! She said it almost made her cry and then the rest of the time we were there she kept asking if we could watch it again.
Oh, the pictures!!!
1. Me breaking ground with a tiny shovel!
2. Sister S and I
3. At the wedding! (Left to right) Sister --- (one of the super awesome members in the ward. She gave us a ride to the wedding), Me, Sister S, ---, ---
4. Picture Sister S made for me for my birthday. That is Ron Weasley in the Tardis as The Doctor :)
Monday, June 16, 2014
10,000,000 Fireflies!
This week has been great! I love Missouri! Here are some things that I love about Missouri:
-It is so pretty here!
-There are so many trees!
-At night there are a lot of fireflies!
-Fireflies are the coolest!
-The people of Ozark Rock!
-We have a Wal-Mart in Ozark!
-Did I mention that there are a lot of trees here?
-And Fireflies! Did I mention the fireflies?
On Monday we had dinner with ---, they share their home with us. She is so awesome! I love her to death!
On Tuesdays we volunteer at a thrift store called The Christian Foundation. They let us take anything we like, I haven't found anything for myself yet, thank goodness, I don't need any clothes, but I did find a shirt for Tanner. While we were sorting through the clothes we found about 12 shirts from Taco Bell advertising the Dorito Tacos, I know that Tanner likes those, so I grabbed one for him. Then for lunch, Sister S and I decided we needed to try the Dorito Tacos, so we went to Taco Bell for lunch, I also got a Quesoritto, I was a little disgusted by how delicious both of them were. (:
On Wednesday we went out with a member, Sister ---. We go out with her about twice a week and each time we do she makes 10 loaves of bread and we go around and take them to less-actives/her visiting teaching. *Shout out to Sister ---!* We also got a new investigator. Before I came the Sisters got a referral for a less-active who isn't on our records in Ozark, so we have seen him a couple of times. He has a daughter who is 18 and not a member, so we invited her to take the lessons and she accepted!! Woohoo!!
On Thursday we had dinner with this family the ---! They are awesome! Sister --- is Pompeiian and served a mission in the OTM (OTM 4 LYFE!!!!)!!! That is actually how she met Brother ---. Sister ---made us islander food, rice and chicken, it was so good! Sister S was really excited because apparently she loves islander food. She told Sister --- one of her favorite things is SPAM and rice/SPAM Musubi, so Sister --- said she would make it for us sometime. I am so happy about that, that I could cry (only kidding a little bit). I love going to the ---, whenever we ask when they want us to come back Brother --- says "Tommorrow?" Then Sister --- schedules something for a few days/a week out. They have 3 super awesome/cute girls (the oldest one loves Harry Potter and Doctor Who, of course she is awesome!)
On Friday we had Zone Training Meeting in Branson, it was so good! You should all go look up the Commencement Address from University of Texas for this year, we watched it and talked about how the things he talked about apply for missionary work. It was super.
On Saturday we went out with --- again, we didn't have bread this time, but we did have flyers to hand out. "For what?" you may ask. In a groundbreaking, for a church building, in Ozark! That's right! Woohoo! Right now we meet in Springfield and it's hard for a lot of members to get out there. Actually, we're in the Springfield South Stake, and we meet in the Springfield Stake building, so the building isn't even in our stake. Crazy sauce. So, the groundbreaking will be exciting, it's on Saturday, and then in a year and a half (probably less, they always over shoot these kinds of things) Ozark will have a building!
We had dinner with our Ward Mission Leader and his family. They were babysitting for another member in the ward so their kids were there. One of the kids, they were babysitting was this little boy, he's about 3. When --- asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up this little boy said he wanted to be "a cow!" HAHAHAHA!!!!
Our dinner appointment on Saturday fell through, but that's okay, because we had coupons for Wendy's and when we go there this guy started talking to us, he was wearing a Vivint shirt and it turns out that he's a member! He invited us to sit with him and he told us stuff about his mission. It was pretty awesome!
After that we went to help one of the members, she is getting married on Saturday to one of our investigators, and so we helped her get things ready for the wedding. Sister S painted these cute signs that have the menu on them and since I have zero artistic abilities, I punched paper hearts from an old book. I think she is going to put them on the tables. I guess they have been punching hearts out for weeks!
Sunday was cool. We had dinner with the Peaks and shared a message about the Stripling Warrior Fathers for Fathers Day. I kept forgetting that it was Fathers Day all day!
I hope all you Dad's had a wonderful Father's Day though!
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
-It is so pretty here!
-There are so many trees!
-At night there are a lot of fireflies!
-Fireflies are the coolest!
-The people of Ozark Rock!
-We have a Wal-Mart in Ozark!
-Did I mention that there are a lot of trees here?
-And Fireflies! Did I mention the fireflies?
On Monday we had dinner with ---, they share their home with us. She is so awesome! I love her to death!
On Tuesdays we volunteer at a thrift store called The Christian Foundation. They let us take anything we like, I haven't found anything for myself yet, thank goodness, I don't need any clothes, but I did find a shirt for Tanner. While we were sorting through the clothes we found about 12 shirts from Taco Bell advertising the Dorito Tacos, I know that Tanner likes those, so I grabbed one for him. Then for lunch, Sister S and I decided we needed to try the Dorito Tacos, so we went to Taco Bell for lunch, I also got a Quesoritto, I was a little disgusted by how delicious both of them were. (:
On Wednesday we went out with a member, Sister ---. We go out with her about twice a week and each time we do she makes 10 loaves of bread and we go around and take them to less-actives/her visiting teaching. *Shout out to Sister ---!* We also got a new investigator. Before I came the Sisters got a referral for a less-active who isn't on our records in Ozark, so we have seen him a couple of times. He has a daughter who is 18 and not a member, so we invited her to take the lessons and she accepted!! Woohoo!!
On Thursday we had dinner with this family the ---! They are awesome! Sister --- is Pompeiian and served a mission in the OTM (OTM 4 LYFE!!!!)!!! That is actually how she met Brother ---. Sister ---made us islander food, rice and chicken, it was so good! Sister S was really excited because apparently she loves islander food. She told Sister --- one of her favorite things is SPAM and rice/SPAM Musubi, so Sister --- said she would make it for us sometime. I am so happy about that, that I could cry (only kidding a little bit). I love going to the ---, whenever we ask when they want us to come back Brother --- says "Tommorrow?" Then Sister --- schedules something for a few days/a week out. They have 3 super awesome/cute girls (the oldest one loves Harry Potter and Doctor Who, of course she is awesome!)
On Friday we had Zone Training Meeting in Branson, it was so good! You should all go look up the Commencement Address from University of Texas for this year, we watched it and talked about how the things he talked about apply for missionary work. It was super.
On Saturday we went out with --- again, we didn't have bread this time, but we did have flyers to hand out. "For what?" you may ask. In a groundbreaking, for a church building, in Ozark! That's right! Woohoo! Right now we meet in Springfield and it's hard for a lot of members to get out there. Actually, we're in the Springfield South Stake, and we meet in the Springfield Stake building, so the building isn't even in our stake. Crazy sauce. So, the groundbreaking will be exciting, it's on Saturday, and then in a year and a half (probably less, they always over shoot these kinds of things) Ozark will have a building!
We had dinner with our Ward Mission Leader and his family. They were babysitting for another member in the ward so their kids were there. One of the kids, they were babysitting was this little boy, he's about 3. When --- asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up this little boy said he wanted to be "a cow!" HAHAHAHA!!!!
Our dinner appointment on Saturday fell through, but that's okay, because we had coupons for Wendy's and when we go there this guy started talking to us, he was wearing a Vivint shirt and it turns out that he's a member! He invited us to sit with him and he told us stuff about his mission. It was pretty awesome!
After that we went to help one of the members, she is getting married on Saturday to one of our investigators, and so we helped her get things ready for the wedding. Sister S painted these cute signs that have the menu on them and since I have zero artistic abilities, I punched paper hearts from an old book. I think she is going to put them on the tables. I guess they have been punching hearts out for weeks!
Sunday was cool. We had dinner with the Peaks and shared a message about the Stripling Warrior Fathers for Fathers Day. I kept forgetting that it was Fathers Day all day!
I hope all you Dad's had a wonderful Father's Day though!
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
Monday, June 9, 2014
Hello Ozark, Missouri!
This week was crazy! Not too much happened in Pawhuska, I feel like all we did the last couple of days there was pack and get the area ready for two new sisters! That was kind of stressful. I am still a little worried that we didn't prepare it well enough and we added more stress to the new sisters! When we were packing I realized that I had accumulated a lot of stuff because I had to have two extra boxes and a garbage bag with stuff in it, so, before next transfers I will be sending some stuff home! Probably clothes that I won't need until winter.
Thursday was Transfer day. We had to wake up bright and early to get there on time. 3:30 to be exact. We had to leave at 5:00. Normally, if I had to leave at 5 AM I wouldn't wake up until like 4:45, but we had to get ready, make sure we had all of our stuff and make sure that we had all the notes that the new sisters would need. It's kind of unfortunate that we had to get ready because, even though, deep down you don't care what you look like at 3:30, part of you still does on transfer day because you will be meeting your new companion and if you're going to a new area you'll be meeting members and investigators, so you want to make a good impression. So, we left Pawhuska for the last time, and it was very sad. I kind of wanted to cry, but I didn't, I was proud of myself for that. We got the stake center in Tulsa and then got on our vans. Sister S and I were hoping to be on a van together, but we weren't. We were going opposite directions ): so I said goodbye to Sister S and got on the van. After about an hour of being on the van I then had to say goodbye to Oklahoma. ):
But, I got to say hello to Missouri! Soon after we got into Missouri it started to rain like crazy! I've never seen it rain like that in my life! When we got to my stop it was just insane! When we stopped we were in the "meat" (as one of the members called it) of the storm. The Elders were getting our bags off of the trailer and they were all disheveled, some of them had taken their ties off so they wouldn't get ruined and their shirts were coming untucked, it was crazy. So then we (the Sisters) were standing there waiting for our bags or our companions, we looked like we had just gotten out of the shower fully dressed! Elders were, very kindly, handing us umbrella's, but at that point it was kind of useless! After that madness we got into the car with the member who was giving us a ride home.
We live with a member in their basement, it's kind of an interesting situation. Brother F is a member and his wife isn't. She is so nice to us. She kept telling us that if we needed anything food wise we could come up and get stuff out of their fridge. I unpacked a little bit, mostly just my clothes, then we went out. I can't remember everyone we met. I know we met the Ward Mission Leader. It's kind of crazy here, we had a ward mission leader and an assistant ward mission leader. I've never been in an area that has an assistant ward mission leader! We also have ward missionaries, which is very nice because we didn't have any in Pawhuska.
Ozark is really nice. It's a big town/small city. They have a Wal-Mart, which is very exciting!
On Friday we did Weekly Planning, so I got to learn about all of our investigators and the less-actives that we visit. Saturday and Sunday were normal missionary days. I met a lot of people!
I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
Thursday was Transfer day. We had to wake up bright and early to get there on time. 3:30 to be exact. We had to leave at 5:00. Normally, if I had to leave at 5 AM I wouldn't wake up until like 4:45, but we had to get ready, make sure we had all of our stuff and make sure that we had all the notes that the new sisters would need. It's kind of unfortunate that we had to get ready because, even though, deep down you don't care what you look like at 3:30, part of you still does on transfer day because you will be meeting your new companion and if you're going to a new area you'll be meeting members and investigators, so you want to make a good impression. So, we left Pawhuska for the last time, and it was very sad. I kind of wanted to cry, but I didn't, I was proud of myself for that. We got the stake center in Tulsa and then got on our vans. Sister S and I were hoping to be on a van together, but we weren't. We were going opposite directions ): so I said goodbye to Sister S and got on the van. After about an hour of being on the van I then had to say goodbye to Oklahoma. ):
But, I got to say hello to Missouri! Soon after we got into Missouri it started to rain like crazy! I've never seen it rain like that in my life! When we got to my stop it was just insane! When we stopped we were in the "meat" (as one of the members called it) of the storm. The Elders were getting our bags off of the trailer and they were all disheveled, some of them had taken their ties off so they wouldn't get ruined and their shirts were coming untucked, it was crazy. So then we (the Sisters) were standing there waiting for our bags or our companions, we looked like we had just gotten out of the shower fully dressed! Elders were, very kindly, handing us umbrella's, but at that point it was kind of useless! After that madness we got into the car with the member who was giving us a ride home.
We live with a member in their basement, it's kind of an interesting situation. Brother F is a member and his wife isn't. She is so nice to us. She kept telling us that if we needed anything food wise we could come up and get stuff out of their fridge. I unpacked a little bit, mostly just my clothes, then we went out. I can't remember everyone we met. I know we met the Ward Mission Leader. It's kind of crazy here, we had a ward mission leader and an assistant ward mission leader. I've never been in an area that has an assistant ward mission leader! We also have ward missionaries, which is very nice because we didn't have any in Pawhuska.
Ozark is really nice. It's a big town/small city. They have a Wal-Mart, which is very exciting!
On Friday we did Weekly Planning, so I got to learn about all of our investigators and the less-actives that we visit. Saturday and Sunday were normal missionary days. I met a lot of people!
I hope you all have a wonderful week! I love you all!
Love,
Sister Fleck ♥
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Transfer calls: I always forget that they happen!
This week was really good, I already told you about Monday, so I'll just pick up with Tuesday! Actually, I won't, because Tuesday was kind of uneventful!
Friday was really good. We had a double day exchange, I guess you could call it, because we were still battling lice we couldn't do a 24 hour exchange with the Sister Training Leader because she couldn't sleep on our beds, and because we had cancelled so many it was the end of the transfer we didn't have time to do it with both of us, so Sister W came to Pawhuska while we were both here and her companion was in their area on splits with members all day. That would make me nervous to not be with another set apart missionary all day!! It went really well! Sister W is such a good example! She's a really hard worker and loves the work so much!
On Saturday we had the Soup Kitchen, have I ever mentioned how much I love the Kitchen (what it's actually called haha), especially on Saturdays? The people we work with are just awesome!!
Man, I was hoping it would take me longer to get to Saturday, I'm already to Transfer calls now! I wanted to keep y'all in suspense longer!
So, Saturday night, there we are waiting for the zone leaders to call us to tell us we're leaving, or text us that we're staying, and our Sister Training Leader, Sister W, calls. She told us that Sister Training Leaders will be doing Transfer calls for Sisters now. Then she told us we were shot gunning out of Pawhuska. She said that I was going to Huntsville Marshallese speaking (which is a thing in our mission) and that Sister S was going to Branson Missouri. My first thought was, 'Sister S loved Huntsville! This will be great!' Then I realized, 'I am going to have to learn Marshallese! I can't do that!!' After I almost started crying Sister W told us that she was kidding!! We talked for a couple of minutes, then hung up. Then the Zone Leaders called us with real information about transfers. We had no idea how close, Sister W was to being right. She had one area completely right, and one state right.
But... She had who was going where flipped! Sister S is going back to Huntsville! She is so excited. She says that Pawhuska and Huntsville are her favorite areas! I am going to an area in Missouri! Any guesses? Anyone? Fine. If no one wants to guess I'll just tell you! I am going to Ozark, Missouri! I'll be in the Springfield, Missouri South Zone/Stake. My companion is going to be Sister S. I am so conflicted!! I am excited to go somewhere new. But I don't want to leave Pawhuska, I love it here so much (even though it doesn't have a Wal-Mart ;))! Sister S and I are doing a lot of preparing so the new sisters coming in will know how Pawhuska works. I hope we do well. It will be good for Pawhuska to start over with two new missionaries, it will be like pressing a reset button.
Sunday was bittersweet, I love going to church here in Pawhuska, but it was sad to know it was the last time! We had two investigators at church, which was pretty exciting because we've had one each week all month!
Yesterday we had a meeting in Tulsa, which is why we're emailing today instead of yesterday. We had dinner with the ---'s when we got back. Sister --- is the member who helped us identify our lice as lice, not fleas. We told her we thought we were still battling the lice, since she is a school teacher, and therefore an expert on lice, she looked at our scalps for us, (what a kind, gracious woman), and said that we were clean! Lice free! She said we were probably just combing out dead skin (yuck!) from using shampoos that dry out our heads (and kill/keep away lice) and combing so aggressively (we really wanted it gone!). We're going to keep treating our heads and clothes and such like we do have lice (combing, cleaning regularly, etc.) until transfers, just to make sure that it is all gone, but it was such a relief to have her tell us that we're lice-free!!
Today has been good, we had lunch with one of the guys from the soup kitchen. It was really sad to say goodbye to him. That's the hardest thing about loving an area, eventually you have to say goodbye to everyone you grow to love.
I have been getting a lot out of my Book of Mormon studies lately! The other day I read Alma 17:36 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/17.36) and it got me wondering what kind of stones I could sling at Satan! I thought about the armor of God (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/eph/6.14-18), and I wanted to know what are some stones that you sling at Satan! That's right! I am giving you homework! I've always wanted to, but I never knew what to do!
Well, I hope you all have a marvelous week! I know that, despite a few shed tears, I will!
Love, Sister Fleck♥
1.See! I told you we slept with vegetable oil in our hair!
2. Last picture with long hair
3. Short hair! What???
PS Only Lizzie would think her hair was short when it was still past her shoulders :) Those who want to respond to the homework please email Sister Fleck at elizabeth.fleck@myldsmail.net. What a boost that assignment gave me of all the things I do well to fight off Satan and his followers and the things I can do better at :)
Friday was really good. We had a double day exchange, I guess you could call it, because we were still battling lice we couldn't do a 24 hour exchange with the Sister Training Leader because she couldn't sleep on our beds, and because we had cancelled so many it was the end of the transfer we didn't have time to do it with both of us, so Sister W came to Pawhuska while we were both here and her companion was in their area on splits with members all day. That would make me nervous to not be with another set apart missionary all day!! It went really well! Sister W is such a good example! She's a really hard worker and loves the work so much!
On Saturday we had the Soup Kitchen, have I ever mentioned how much I love the Kitchen (what it's actually called haha), especially on Saturdays? The people we work with are just awesome!!
Man, I was hoping it would take me longer to get to Saturday, I'm already to Transfer calls now! I wanted to keep y'all in suspense longer!
So, Saturday night, there we are waiting for the zone leaders to call us to tell us we're leaving, or text us that we're staying, and our Sister Training Leader, Sister W, calls. She told us that Sister Training Leaders will be doing Transfer calls for Sisters now. Then she told us we were shot gunning out of Pawhuska. She said that I was going to Huntsville Marshallese speaking (which is a thing in our mission) and that Sister S was going to Branson Missouri. My first thought was, 'Sister S loved Huntsville! This will be great!' Then I realized, 'I am going to have to learn Marshallese! I can't do that!!' After I almost started crying Sister W told us that she was kidding!! We talked for a couple of minutes, then hung up. Then the Zone Leaders called us with real information about transfers. We had no idea how close, Sister W was to being right. She had one area completely right, and one state right.
But... She had who was going where flipped! Sister S is going back to Huntsville! She is so excited. She says that Pawhuska and Huntsville are her favorite areas! I am going to an area in Missouri! Any guesses? Anyone? Fine. If no one wants to guess I'll just tell you! I am going to Ozark, Missouri! I'll be in the Springfield, Missouri South Zone/Stake. My companion is going to be Sister S. I am so conflicted!! I am excited to go somewhere new. But I don't want to leave Pawhuska, I love it here so much (even though it doesn't have a Wal-Mart ;))! Sister S and I are doing a lot of preparing so the new sisters coming in will know how Pawhuska works. I hope we do well. It will be good for Pawhuska to start over with two new missionaries, it will be like pressing a reset button.
Sunday was bittersweet, I love going to church here in Pawhuska, but it was sad to know it was the last time! We had two investigators at church, which was pretty exciting because we've had one each week all month!
Yesterday we had a meeting in Tulsa, which is why we're emailing today instead of yesterday. We had dinner with the ---'s when we got back. Sister --- is the member who helped us identify our lice as lice, not fleas. We told her we thought we were still battling the lice, since she is a school teacher, and therefore an expert on lice, she looked at our scalps for us, (what a kind, gracious woman), and said that we were clean! Lice free! She said we were probably just combing out dead skin (yuck!) from using shampoos that dry out our heads (and kill/keep away lice) and combing so aggressively (we really wanted it gone!). We're going to keep treating our heads and clothes and such like we do have lice (combing, cleaning regularly, etc.) until transfers, just to make sure that it is all gone, but it was such a relief to have her tell us that we're lice-free!!
Today has been good, we had lunch with one of the guys from the soup kitchen. It was really sad to say goodbye to him. That's the hardest thing about loving an area, eventually you have to say goodbye to everyone you grow to love.
I have been getting a lot out of my Book of Mormon studies lately! The other day I read Alma 17:36 (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/17.36) and it got me wondering what kind of stones I could sling at Satan! I thought about the armor of God (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/eph/6.14-18), and I wanted to know what are some stones that you sling at Satan! That's right! I am giving you homework! I've always wanted to, but I never knew what to do!
Well, I hope you all have a marvelous week! I know that, despite a few shed tears, I will!
Love, Sister Fleck♥
1.See! I told you we slept with vegetable oil in our hair!
2. Last picture with long hair
3. Short hair! What???
PS Only Lizzie would think her hair was short when it was still past her shoulders :) Those who want to respond to the homework please email Sister Fleck at elizabeth.fleck@myldsmail.net. What a boost that assignment gave me of all the things I do well to fight off Satan and his followers and the things I can do better at :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)