Washington, Week 7

Well, this week was transfers, and both I and Sister Redford are staying in the Edmonds area. This means that on July 1st, we will become part of the Seattle Mission. This also means that this transfer will be 8 weeks long instead of 6 weeks because Seattle is on a different transfer schedule than Everett.

Not a ton of excitement went on this week. Tuesday we stopped by Judy's again. We hadn't seen her in a little while and I guess she's been having a rough time with things. Tomorrow we are going to start the stop smoking program with her.

Wednesday was zone meeting and Sister Redford and I are now the only sister missionaries in our entire zone!!

Thursday morning we got a referral from Mormon.org. It was for a lady and her 13-year-old daughter and it said that they are very interested in joining our Church. We have gotten a hold of her on the phone, but haven't been able to meet them yet, so hopefully that will happen this week!

On Friday we had an appointment cancel, but hopefully we can get in with him soon!

Saturday we met with Blanca and Tiffany. Tiffany has been wanting to pray in the woods, so we met them at a park that we found a couple weeks ago, and we let her pray there. Then we taught Tiffany about the law of chastity and also tithing and fasting. She committed to living both. She also told us that she wants to push her baptism back because she wants to learn more. Yesterday we introduced her to the Young Women and they were very welcoming and got her sign-up sheets for youth conference and girls' camp, so hopefully that will help her too!

That morning we also got a call from Jerry telling us that he is working Saturdays at his old job here in our area and that he wanted us to come over. He also told us that Sue Kelly had just gotten out of the hospital that morning because she had minor heart attack. We got a couple men in our ward to come give her a blessing, then we visited a bit with Jerry. He is very interested in the Church, so hopefully he will commit soon. :)

That night for dinner we ate with a part member family. The mom and 2 kids are members, but the husband is not. After dinner we shared a message with them, just like we always do after dinner, and he kind of got really frustrated and an argument started with him kinda raising his voice to no one in particular (but looking at his wife), so we just kind of sat there. Then the 12-year-old boy, who is just the cutest, said, "This has gotten kinda awkward. I think this is more of a personal thing that we should talk about later." It was very cute. Anyway, I think we ended up leaving on a good note, and he wants us back for dinner....kinda weird, but that's OK. ;)

Yesterday Blanca was confirmed and received the holy ghost! :) It was so great and the ward has been so welcoming to her! Also, last night was cottage meeting (Pres. and Sis. Wilson's last one before their service is over). It was bittersweet, but the Spirit was strong there. Jerry told us he took his nice clothes to work so that he could come, but then his replacement didn't show up, so he couldn't come. That was disappointing, but it's OK. He'll have other opportunities. Blanca came though, and she liked it.

Well, that's about it for this week.

Thank you for your prayers and support! You all mean so much to me! One thought from this week that I wanted to share is that we need to notice the miracles that are happening all around us every single day. Recognize them, record them, and more will come. :) The same goes for missionary opportunities. :)  I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission

Washington, Week 6

What a week! Especially the weekend! It was running from one thing to the next. We finally collapsed into bed last night (Me at about 9:30) ;)

Tuesday evening we met with Blanca and her daughters and taught the plan of salvation again since they were there.

Wednesday evening we met with Blanca to teach her again. During our lesson we called Elder Sparks so she could ask him to baptize her. He told her that he would, but he was going home on Monday. So she said, "We have to move it forward!" :) So, she moved her date up to Sunday, June 2nd! We through together the baptism like 2 crazy people! ;) After Tuesday, our week was mostly devoted to Blanca and making sure she had an understanding of all that is needed to know before baptism.

She is AMAZING! She told us that her fiance had been treating her differently but that not even that could make her change her mind. She has incredible faith and is such an example to me! I am SO thankful that I could witness her faith and testimony growing!

Wednesday we hit her with the "big guns" (commandments) and she accepted every single one with perfect understanding. :) She is incredible. I love her so much!

The downfall for that day was that we found out that Brother Bowhey has decided to be offended, so we are praying and fasting for his heart to be softened. We did invite Jennifer to the baptism yesterday and she did show up. She also brought her daughters to the primary activity on Saturday and a birthday party that happened in the ward. So, we think they will return to church soon.

Anyway, we met with Blanca again on Thursday. We taught her the rest of everything she needed to know before baptism and set up her baptism program. We also brought a YSA girl with us will be receiving her call soon. She sounds a lot like me in that she is very quiet and very nervous about tracting. So we took her with us for some tracting and then to Blanca's. Her mom and aunt were there and they made us DELICIOUS enchiladas! I was in Heaven ;)

Friday we were on exchange with the sister training leaders until 3:00. We helped someone in the ward move from 4-7, then got changed and met Blanca at the church to fill out her baptism record. Then President Wilson came at 8 and interviewed Blanca for baptism while we practiced our musical number. After that the Spanish elders came and went over the procedure with her. That was all really great!

Saturday we did the missionary stake primary activity from 9:30-1:30 for ages 8-11. All the missionaries in our zone helped out. It was so cute! They made it look like when you go into the MTC and then they gave them their envelope and name tag. As they came into the doors, we gave them a sticker that told them which "country" they'd be called to for the day: Japan, Argentina, or Fiji. The first class was Language and Culture. Someone who served there taught those classes. We were assigned to Japan, so we stayed with that group of kids for the day. They also had passports and they got a stamp in each classroom. The second class was Teaching, and each set of missionaries taught a class. We taught our class how to teach their friends about the Book of Mormon using the pics in the front of the book. They were all really smart! It was great! Then they had lunch and there was food from all those different countries (DELICIOUS!), then there was a music performance by a "band". They sang 3 of the songs from the Nashville tribute to missionaries. We (the missionaries) sang part of it. Then the third class was A Day as a Missionary and they taught them about our schedule. So that was a really cute activity!

After that we ran to make a stop at a recent convert's granddaughter's birthday party that we had been invited to. She turned 5 and she loves us! So we stopped there for a few minutes, then ran to meet Blanca at our apartment. She took us to a baptism in Everett of a girl who Sister Redford taught. After that, we stopped at Jerry's daughter's birthday party. He lives in Everett and invited us. It was the perfect opportunity to pass him off to the Elders that serve in that area. He's insisted that he only wants us to teach him, but I think our attempt on Saturday was successful. He seemed to like the Elders there.

Anyway, after we went back home we had to run a few errands like practicing our song, getting Blanca's baptism program all set up and printed out.

Then yesterday was such a wonderful day! I was on a spiritual high all day! We went to church, taught Gospel Principles, then filled the font, arranged the rooms, copied Blanca's program, etc. Then Blanca and her daughters and their friends came with all this food that Blanca had made and we helped them with that. She's so cute! She also paid her tithing and fast offering yesterday!! And it was so great because TONS of people showed up! Lots from the ward, our mission president, and her mom and brother and fiance all came. She was extremely touched by her brother coming because they have a very rocky relationship and he tried to convince her many times not to join our church. So that was so great for him to come. She cried during our song. We sang a duet of Be Still, My Soul. It was all great during practice, but my voice was shaking so much while we were performing it! Anyway, she loved it. Then a wonderful sister in our ward gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, and it REALLY brought the Spirit. Everyone was touched. Afterwards, her mom was crying (she's very strict Catholic) and later on that evening we went to Blanca's house and her fiance, Vincent had tons of questions for us. He was asking what all these different feelings were and asking why he had butterflies in his stomach and why Blanca looked different like "the way we all do" after she was baptized. It was so great! The Spanish elders went over and talked to Blanca's mom when she was crying after the baptism too, to let her know what it was that she was feeling. It was SUCH a wonderful day! :) I'm so truly grateful to have been a part of it!

Later on, we went to Everett again for a double baptism of people Sister Redford taught in her last area. When we got home, we basically collapsed and then woke up bright and early this morning. :) It was truly an incredible week.

Also, Tiffany (Blanca's 13-year-old daughter) committed to baptism on June 15th!! HOORAY!! :)

Look this week for all the missionary opportunities we have all around us. :) I love you!
Love Forever, Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission

First Week in Washington

Well...this week has been pretty crazy and also really tough for me. I pray so hard and for so long every night.

My new companion is Sister Redford. She's from Mesa, AZ. We were assigned to the Edmonds ward in the Shoreline stake. We have been assigned to "whitewash" the area, which means that we are both new here. Also, there haven't been sister missionaries here in over 10 years. This week has been tough trying to get our bearings. Also, the apartment was a mess and full of Elders' stuff! We have been cleaning and we overfilled that giant box you sent me with all the stuff they left behind. It was pretty crazy. A closet full of clothes, shoes, and even garments! But it smells a lot less like Elder in there now, which is good. The first night we arrived, I was so exhausted from overload of information, new things, etc. It meant the world to me to have my blankie and pillow. I slept like a baby. It was wonderful. The mattresses are super crappy, but the elders left comforters, so I folded one and put it under my sheets, so it's comfy now.

Anyway, Edmonds is almost the very south of the mission. It's south of Everett. From sitting here at the computer in the library, I look out the window and can see the water. It's very beautiful. Edmonds has the largest ferry fleet. We went street contacting at the marina the other night. It was so beautiful! I loved it!

So...I received a bit of news this week. On July 1st, we will be getting a new mission president, but that is also when the new mission will be created in Federal Way. Part of the Seattle mission will go to Federal Way, and the southernmost areas of Everett mission will go to the Seattle mission. So, unless I get transferred for some reason at the end of my first 6 weeks, I will be going to the Seattle mission. I'm just a little sad because all my MTC friends will be in the Everett mission still. But anyway, I will do whatever the Lord asks of me, and I know that if I'm meant to stay here, then I will be transferred before then. But most of the time, people stay with their trainers in the same area for their first 12 weeks. Anyway, I guess we will see.

This is a good ward up here. The area is GIANT! Definitely weird for me, being from a 2-street ward. I can't believe how much area it spans. Also, there are a billion apartment complexes in our area, so lots of work to be done here. Only one appointment that the elders had set up for us actually worked out. That was on Wednesday night. We went to see a really old guy named Michael. We taught him the lesson of the Restoration, and he seemed very receptive and we committed him to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. The relief society president had to go with us because we have to have another adult female to go anywhere where there's just a guy. She is really awesome! Her name is Sister Pickett. Oh, and we are meeting with Michael again this Wednesday. We went to teach a lesson, and totally had the guy peek through the blinds and then not answer the door! Rude! Another wasn't home, and the other there was a confusion in language and we ended up at different places and now we have to reschedule. We have also attempted to visit a few less-active members, but a lot of those didn't work out either. And I noticed that at the grocery store, everyone avoids making eye contact with me. That's really new and it's something that's hard for me to get used to. Being rejected so much in my first week really started to take a toll on me. I keep going and praying though.

Please pray for me. I know that you already do, but maybe an extra prayer?

Also, one of our zone leaders is Elder Schmidt, and his dad is Jon Schmidt. He is coming to do a concert/devotional at the end of May, so that's pretty cool!

We were also able to teach a lesson to a recent convert. She was baptized in September, and her husband is still investigating, so we're praying for him as well. He enjoys going to church and to elders quorum, so hopefully. There is also a family who doesn't like being pushed, but they all have strong testimonies and they come to church every week, and they have been for a long time. Everyone always tells us how awesome they are, so we'll be working with them too hopefully.

Yesterday I actually raised my hand and commented in Relief Society. We were discussing how we can gain peace. I said, "The only way I can ever have peace is to give everything up to the Lord. I know that I have no control over any of the things that I worry about. I have to have faith and trust that He will watch over my family, He will lead me to those I need to teach, and He will give me the words to say." When I started talking, the room went totally silent, which was weird, and Sister Pickett said, "That's really wise advice." So that was cool. I felt very strongly that I should say that. That's something that I really have had to do, especially being here. I have to remind myself every time I start worrying about anything. Then I have peace.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers and support! I need them all ;)

I love you and miss you like crazy!

Love, Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission

Washington, Week 5

This week was very challenging, but also rewarding!

I asked Blanca if she would be baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God, and she said yes! June 15th is the date! I am so incredibly happy for her! She is going to be such an amazing member of the church!

This week we also helped a member move. She was so filled with gratitude when we went over to her apartment and I told her we could get the use of a giant truck and members of the ward. That was really rewarding to me and I was so thankful that I could help someone to feel such gratitude.

Also, Sunday we got to go to the Jon Schmidt concert/fireside in Arlington. It was so great! I invited the same ward member to go with us and she just kept telling us thank you so much. She doesn't have a home and is actually not sure where she'll be going next, so that's why she is so thankful for our help. I was so happy I got to be a part of helping her.

This week we have also had a lot of half and half weather days. Saturday morning was sunny and warm, Saturday evening was pouring rain. Sunday morning was pouring rain and Sunday evening it stopped again. The saying around here is if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes. But yesterday was pouring rain all day. The first full rainy day that I have experienced since being here.

I also had my first "door-slam" this week! It surprises me just how little it effected me. I was so worried that it would make me sad, but we just went to the next door and tried again. It was actually kind of funny because right before slamming the door, she said, "...and I'm being nice!" ;) I was like, OK, thanks for not being mean! ;) It was silly.
Well, I think that's about it for this week. Thank you so much for all your support and love and prayers. It truly means the world to me. I have seen missionaries who don't have the support that I do, and it just makes me so, so thankful for each one of you!

I love you!
Love, Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission

P.S. 1st pic: Ready to work

2nd pic: the caterpillar tree at the dog beach...just about the grossest thing I have ever seen. It was COVERED in these caterpillar nests

3rd pic: not pleased with the cold, rainy day

Washington, Week 4

This week was...exhausting. Physically, spiritually, and mentally. To be honest, I don't remember most of it. I think I blocked it out or something.

Tuesday I was on crutches all day to try to keep the weight off my foot. But they were the kind that go around your wrists. They HURT so badly! My hands got to the point by the end of the day that I literally couldn't use them a single time more and I had to just walk without them. But then I hurt my foot even more, so that was not so great.

Anyway, that day we went to see Jerry again and he told us that it was his last day working at the group home, so we lost him as an investigator, which makes me really sad. But we did give him a Book of Mormon and he told us to call him, but we will have to refer him to the missionaries who serve in the area where he lives. But he says he only wants to be taught by us, so...we'll see how that goes.

Wednesday we did service in a non-member's home. We're hoping that she will become an investigator. She's been accepting reading assignments from us in the Book of Mormon. It's just really hard for me to go there because she smokes inside her home and she also has cats. So...I started having an asthma attack as we were leaving and I had to rest for awhile.

We did have a good experience with a couple of less-active ladies in our ward that night though. They are cousins and live together and they really love us. We took The Testament dvd to their house and watched it with them. They both got emotional, so that's a good sign. We're working on getting them to come back to church. I think they're close.

Thursday was zone conference and that ended up lasting all day. 9-5.

But, the highlight to my week took place Thursday night! We had a lesson with the Abrego family that we met last Saturday and who came to church on Sunday. The mom (Blanca) and her 13 yr old daughter (Tiffany) are SO prepared. It is just amazing. Blanca cried and told us that every time she reads from the Book of Mormon and she hears us teach she just feels like she's "come home". :) It's wonderful. She and Tiffany said that when they receive an answer about Joseph Smith and about if joining the church is what Heavenly Father wants for them, then they will get baptized. I'm guessing they'll commit this week. I sure hope so! They also came to church again yesterday! Yay! We just have to work a little more with KT, the 19 yr old. But I'm sure she'll see the happiness it brings her mom and sister.

Friday we met with Jen Bowhey and her husband Steve. They told us that they decided that Steve will baptize Jen when he receives the priesthood. So, I'm hoping that he at least will get baptized this Saturday. We are hoping and praying!

Ellen, the 11 yr old that we've been teaching doesn't follow through with her commitments and her mom told her that she couldn't go to church, so I'm thinking we might have to drop her as an investigator, which also makes me sad.

Friday night we went on an exchange with our sister training leaders. I went to Kirkland with Sister Morgan, and Sister Goodrich came to Edmonds with Sister Redford. So all day Saturday we were on exchange. This was the hardest, most draining day of my mission so far. We walked a total of about 4 hours, meeting rude person after rude person. It was beautiful, but people are just not nice. In 4 hours of tracting we came across only 1 potential investigator. We walked and walked and climbed hills and driveways so steep, I almost had to use my hands. That night after I got back home to Edmonds, I just crashed on my bed. I was so exhausted and just felt like crying. And yes, I'm still very sore ;) But, from this experience I have become SO much more thankful for Edmonds! I LOVE it here! People are so much nicer and I am just so, so thankful to be here!

Also, yesterday we spoke in church. I kinda felt like I was all over the place, but a lot of people told me thank you after and that it was really nice and they really liked it. So, I hope it really was and that they weren't just being nice ;)

So anyway, that's my week. I am so thankful for this new week. I know that it will be so much better and that we are going to have success! I'm SO thankful for prayer and for the great power of the Comforter. Thank you for your prayers and your support! I love each of you so much! :)

Love Forever, Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission

Washington, Week 3

Finally! Success! Our labors and prayers are starting to pay off and it is wonderful!

So, the first half of our week was pretty slow, and I was getting a little bit discouraged.

Although on Tuesday, we met with a lady who has been investigating the church for over a year. She and her husband didn't want any missionary lessons and they just wanted to investigate on their own. So we had lunch with her on Tuesday to get to know her, and afterwards we started talking about religion, etc. I ended up telling her that I think she'd get the most out of starting from the beginning of the missionary lessons and going all the way through them, so she said she was up for it. Then we met with her again on Friday. We went on a walk with her and her two little girls to feed the goats, then went back to her house and started to teach her lesson 1. Towards the end, her little girls came out of their room, so Sister Redford started painting with them while I finished up the lesson. During the lesson I had recited the first vision to her, and Sister Redford said that it was really good and powerful, so that made me happy. Then at the end, I just looked into her eyes and bore my testimony really powerfully, then closed in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Then I asked her, "Jen, will you commit to prepare to be baptized on May 26th?" And she said, "Yes." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SO happy, and SOOOO thankful! All day, I was just on a high and couldn't stop smiling! It was just the best thing ever! Anyway, she said that she's pretty sure that her husband will want to be baptized the same day as her, so I'm hoping we get a chance to meet with him this week!

On Thursday we met with Sue Kelly and Jerry again. (Sue is the one that was praying for us, and she's already a member). When we came in, Sue told us that she gave the Book of Mormon to Jerry just like I told her to and that he wants to hear what we have to say. ;) We watched The Testament with him, and afterwards he told us that he read a few pages of the Book of Mormon and that he would like to learn more. He just seemed so prepared, and I'm so thankful that we were led to him! We are meeting with him again tomorrow! :)

Also on Friday evening we met with Ellen again. (She's the 11-year-old from Ghana). We watched The Restoration dvd with her, and we asked her if her parents say it's ok if she would like to get baptized, and she said, "Can you get baptized when you're 11?" and we told her that you can. She said, "Yeah, I've always wanted to be." So, we are praying that her parents' hearts will be softened and that they will allow her to be baptized!

Then on Saturday night, we had just gotten home and were studying when the Spanish-speaking elders knocked on our door. They told us that they had just met some very prepared people and that they needed an English Book of Mormon and they told them that we would come meet them. So, we got our skirts back on and walked over there. It was a family with a mom and two daughters (13 and 19). They all speak English perfectly, plus they're all females, so they referred them to us. Anyway, they had taught them the first lesson right before they came to get us. The mom told us that she had already started to read the Book of Mormon! We gave English copies to each of the girls and they seemed happy about that. We also asked them if they wanted to come to church with us the next day and they said yes! The 13-year-old was very enthusiastic and said that she wants to talk to God just like Joseph Smith did ;) She asked her mom if she would take her to church or to the woods ;) haha Anyway, we walked into church the next morning and they were sitting there on the back row! It was really great and the mom was crying the entire time! (This is the only time when I'm happy to see someone crying)! But we asked her when we could meet with them and she told us that Thursday is her day off!  It was just amazing!

Also, something kinda crazy happened later Saturday night after we had gotten back home and were getting ready for bed. There was a knock on the door and we thought that maybe it was the elders again, but when Sister Redford opened the door, I heard a man with a heavy accent speaking, so I went over to the door too. He told us that he is from Russia, his name is Alexei, and he was asking us if we would pray with him. He saw the picture of Jesus on our door, so he knocked. He said his heart was broken and that his wife had told him something like that he wasn't good for her. So anyway, we prayed with him and he told us thank you so much and that he felt much better now. I guess he lives above us in our apartments. So anyway, that was pretty cool.

We had a lot of wonderful experiences this weekend, and I'm so thankful for Heavenly Father answering our prayers! Also, two different people came up to us at church and told us that they had brought someone with them who wasn't a member! So, they're starting to trust us and do their part, and it just makes us so happy! :)

Prayer and faith pays off! Heavenly Father is listening and knows what is best, and even if it takes a little longer than we want...we have to follow His will and have faith that it will always be better than what we can even imagine.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers and your support! They mean the world to me! I love you and miss you! 

Love, Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission

Washington, Week 2

So, fun bit of information...Sister Redford got her driving privilege taken away for the month of May, so I get to drive everywhere.

Anyway, this week I've had some cool experiences. Still not many people investigating, but still had some great things happen.

On Wednesday we followed up with a referral we got from the Spanish-speaking sisters. They had talked to a guy while he was taking out the trash outside of what they thought was his house. When we knocked, a guy answered the door and told us that it was an adult group home. So later we called the Spanish sisters and asked them if the guy was skinny and Filipino. They said yes, so we knew it had to be the guy we talked to. Later that night when we were planning Sister Redford asked me who I thought we should go see at 2:00. The only name I could think of was Jerry (the Filipino guy). I tried to think of other names, but I couldn't come up with a single one. My mind was blank except for Jerry. So I told Sister Redford, and she said "But that would be weird because we just saw him today." I said "I know, but I really feel like we should go see him again." So she said, "Okay." When we went over there the next day, he let us in, and there was a lady sitting on the couch. She looked at us and said "Are you missionaries?" We told her that we were. And she told us that she had been praying for someone from the Church to come see her because she really wanted home teachers. She also told us that she had talked to her brother and he didn't know what ward she was in. Anyway, it was really awesome and I felt like I finally did something good. I am so thankful that I listened to the Spirit. We are going to visit her again this week, and hopefully teach Jerry too. :)

Also, Monday night we went over to see a non active lady in the ward. The bishop's wife told us that they had been going over to visit and give her blessings, etc. She told us that she knew this lady had been offended in the past and that now she wasn't answering them, so she was worried that she had done or said something. Anyway, we went over there, and we had to reach over the gate and undo a tricky latch (Shhh, don't tell!). Then we knocked on her door and she actually let us in. She seemed happy to talk to us. I'm pretty sure she's alone there. But she paints, so she and I talked a lot about that. We also found out that she had been through a lot of trials in her life and we figured out that because of these things, she has developed negative views of the Church. She is offended very easily and her heart has been hardened. It's very sad. But, as I was listening to her, I realized that the things she went through in her life, my mom has experienced very similar circumstances. The difference in how these two women faced these trials is astounding. Where one hardened her heart, the other showed great humility and turned to the Lord. This experience made me realize even more what a wonderful woman my mom is! I thank Heavenly Father every night that I was blessed with such a wonderful example in my life. We all have trials, and there are always people who may not treat us with kindness. But these are opportunities to grow closer to our Father in Heaven. We choose whether or not we will be offended. This morning I was reading about Moroni's epistle to Pahoran, rebuking him for not sending aid to his armies. And the way Pahoran responds to Moroni is just amazing. He tells him that he has rebuked him, but that it's okay because he knows how faithful Moroni is and that he is a strong man in God. I just think that is so amazing! So, everyone try a little harder for humility and charity in your lives. It makes things so much easier! And thank you Mom, for being an amazing example to me. I love you!

One more experience we had this week was not quite as enjoyable... ;) We went over to see a couple in our ward. They are from Ghana. Their native language is Twi, so it's hard to communicate with the wife because she doesn't speak much English. The husband does, but there's still a barrier, for sure. Our purpose in going over there was to start teaching the wife some English. But I guess they didn't fully understand that. Because she was busily cooking in the kitchen when we arrived. Their niece lives with them and after a lot of confusion, she communicated to us that they were cooking for us. We felt really bad because they don't have much money, and the husband told us that he got rice from the bishop to feed us...yeah, that made me feel really bad. Anyway, they didn't end up making rice for us, but they made this native Ghanaian dish for us....I can't even describe it. It was kind of like if you had cream of wheat and made it into a ball form (they said this was corn meal?) So, they put this ball in a bowl, and then poured this soup stuff over it. The "soup" had fish and who knows what else in it. The worst part is that it was slimy and sticky...so gross. And they wanted us to eat with our hands because they don't eat with utensils. So, we had to get a piece of the corn ball and dip it in the soup, and then slurp it... For those of you who know how sensitive I am to textures...this was so hard for me! I was praying the whole time that I wouldn't throw up. And the taste was not bad, but watching everyone eat it made me so sick. Anyway, they seemed satisfied after I tried one bite (thank Heaven!) But Sister Redford felt guilty, so she wanted to make a dent in it. Anyway, she was sick all night and the next morning. It was so awful ;) They kept getting giant bites and slurping it up really loudly. I feel sick just thinking about it ;) But they were so kind and we didn't want to make them feel bad at all.

And the positive thing was that we ended up teaching their niece, who seemed very receptive to our message. We gave her a Book of Mormon and said that she would read it and pray about it. We even had her pray, and it was so good! So...wonderful experience and a new investigator out of something that wasn't so positive ;)

And one other great experience we had this week: On Friday we went to see a less active sister and we talked to her for a long time. She said she felt like she could trust us and that she liked us a lot. She also said she hadn't born her testimony since 2003. So we asked her what she would say if she bore her testimony, and she told us some good things. :) 

Yesterday she came to church and we sat by her. Sister Redford told her that if she went up, then she would go up with her. After a few minutes, she said she wanted to go up. She bore her testimony and talked about how we came to see her and she really liked that, and how we talked about this and that we kept looking at her during sacrament meeting ;) She said she hadn't born her testimony in 10 years, and she got emotional too. It was so nice to hear that. When she came and sat down again, I gave her a big hug and she told me that she was so scared and that she was shaking, but I was SO proud of her! :) It was really awesome to experience that.

So, our bishop challenged our ward members to pray for missionary opportunities,and I would just like to challenge you all to do this as well. Don't be afraid to bear your testimony. Declare truth with boldness. Share the message of the Book of Mormon. Follow the promptings of the Spirit, and MIRACLES will happen. I love you all SO much! Thank you for your support and love!!

Love, Sister Stanley

Washington Everett Mission