We have had a great week of reaching some goals! It's been tough to get to our goals, but this week with our car situation changed, we were able to knock a lot more houses. Unfortunately, we didn't find any new investigators, but hopefully seeds have been planted.
We had a really great experience on Tuesday last week. It was our first day without the car. We were a little grumpy to start, but eventually gained a better attitude. Our phone is a huge distraction some days. We get caught up in conversations with the missionaries in our district or zone. It's not necessarily disobedient, but it is distracting from the work. On Tuesday, for some reason, there wasn't a need to use the phone. We did so much that day! We were limited on time and energy but we made our goal of "finding lessons"! I know it was through our more exact obedience that we were blessed with the guidance to find people who we could teach. The Lord is great!
ADVENTURES WITH PATSY:
Okay, on Wednesday, we had dinner with Patsy Daniels. She took us to this restaurant named New Day Cafe. I was a little weary of it the first time we went because I thought it would be this freaky place, but turns out its just a regular cafe.. HA! Anyway, we asked if she could give us a ride to the park where the missionaries and members and their non member friends play ultimate frisbee on Wednesday evenings. We got there and no one was at the park. We called and it had been cancelled. As we drove back to the area I asked if she knew where St Mary's cathedral was. She decided to take us by it! It's in a different city so we were gone until curfew, but she showed us the whole town. It was quite the adventure! I tried to take lots of pictures. The elders have been inside and said it's a little freaky... haha! We'll see if that's true or not soon!
On Thursday! We had a miraculous gift from President! Sister Carpenter was invited to a first time endowment of a member in an area she served in. President Cleveland said we needed a ride from a member to the temple to be able to go. We asked a lot of the women in our ward but none could do it. It was a few hours before we would have to leave and she asked if we were able to go. Carpenter said we couldn't find anyone. She asked if the President would let us catch a ride down and then she would drive us back in the morning. We called the president and it just so happened that the Assistants were in our area on exchanges with the elders. They were leaving for Indianapolis in about 30 minutes. It worked out that we were able to ride with them to Indy and made it in time for the session! It was so amazing! The spirit that was there with us was so much stronger than during the open house! You could tell it had been dedicated and the Lord's presence was found there. We are so lucky to have a wonderful mission president and great assistants, too!
On Saturday we had dinner scheduled with Cheryl. She is a member who doesn't attend church. In fact, she attends a Methodist church. She's always super sweet to us, though, and feeds us weekly usually. We were about an hour late because of a lesson with our investigators who are to be baptized on September 12. She was kind and not upset when we called to let her know the situation. We ate pizza and brownies and played with her dogs. At the end of the evening, she invited us to attend her church on Sunday evening. They were having a "Song Fest" and she really wanted us to join her. We agreed to come. Then she asked if we would want to perform a song in the program! Sister Carpenter was so excited, so we said yes! It was so weird! On Sunday evening, we met at the Methodist church building where the program had already begun. We walked in and saw that we were assigned to a position about halfway through the program. (It was a really short program, so when we arrived, it was nearly our turn) We had no idea what we were going to perform, but decided last minute to sing "Nearer My God, to Thee" A Capella. It acutally went really well. The people were super nice to us and we stayed for the dinner they had following the performances. Very unique, interesting experience!
SUNDAY:
Hahaha! Sunday was a hoot. We went to church and a lot of stuff happened. I can't even explain all the things, but by the time it was all over, we were relieved to be done. The elders were invited to the Elder and Sister Packham's house for lunch, but two of them needed a ride. We offered, and then the Packham's invited us to join them, even though they had fed us on Friday. We went over and ate stew, chips, tomatoes, and ice cream. That was all at 1 PM. We had been invited earlier in the week to lunch at the Bishop's house at 3 PM. So after the Packham's, we went over to the bishop's house. They had salmon and asparagus and a whole slew of other things, including peach pie! AFTER THAT we went to the songfest and they made us eat. Serioiusly, I think I gained 12 lbs just yesterday. It was awful and we both wanted to die, just a little bit! But we are so blessed to have so many people to offer us lunch/dinner.
This week has been strange, but then again, every week is strange. Taylor and Xandra are doing well! They will be baptized on September 12. We are working with them multiple times a week. We are really excited to be here for it! Sister Carpenter will leave me in a few weeks. I'm pretty bummed about it, but it's okay. It's been a good two transfers. It's true what they say about loving your trainer. It isn't by chance that we were put together. I needed her to be my first companion! Terre Haute is the best! The people and culture are super strange, but it grows on you! I love it and I'll be sad to leave in a few more months.
Thank you all for your support, love and prayers! I love you and I think of you a lot! You're always in my prayers! <3
Love
Sister Mondragon <3
We had a really great experience on Tuesday last week. It was our first day without the car. We were a little grumpy to start, but eventually gained a better attitude. Our phone is a huge distraction some days. We get caught up in conversations with the missionaries in our district or zone. It's not necessarily disobedient, but it is distracting from the work. On Tuesday, for some reason, there wasn't a need to use the phone. We did so much that day! We were limited on time and energy but we made our goal of "finding lessons"! I know it was through our more exact obedience that we were blessed with the guidance to find people who we could teach. The Lord is great!
ADVENTURES WITH PATSY:
Okay, on Wednesday, we had dinner with Patsy Daniels. She took us to this restaurant named New Day Cafe. I was a little weary of it the first time we went because I thought it would be this freaky place, but turns out its just a regular cafe.. HA! Anyway, we asked if she could give us a ride to the park where the missionaries and members and their non member friends play ultimate frisbee on Wednesday evenings. We got there and no one was at the park. We called and it had been cancelled. As we drove back to the area I asked if she knew where St Mary's cathedral was. She decided to take us by it! It's in a different city so we were gone until curfew, but she showed us the whole town. It was quite the adventure! I tried to take lots of pictures. The elders have been inside and said it's a little freaky... haha! We'll see if that's true or not soon!
On Thursday! We had a miraculous gift from President! Sister Carpenter was invited to a first time endowment of a member in an area she served in. President Cleveland said we needed a ride from a member to the temple to be able to go. We asked a lot of the women in our ward but none could do it. It was a few hours before we would have to leave and she asked if we were able to go. Carpenter said we couldn't find anyone. She asked if the President would let us catch a ride down and then she would drive us back in the morning. We called the president and it just so happened that the Assistants were in our area on exchanges with the elders. They were leaving for Indianapolis in about 30 minutes. It worked out that we were able to ride with them to Indy and made it in time for the session! It was so amazing! The spirit that was there with us was so much stronger than during the open house! You could tell it had been dedicated and the Lord's presence was found there. We are so lucky to have a wonderful mission president and great assistants, too!
On Saturday we had dinner scheduled with Cheryl. She is a member who doesn't attend church. In fact, she attends a Methodist church. She's always super sweet to us, though, and feeds us weekly usually. We were about an hour late because of a lesson with our investigators who are to be baptized on September 12. She was kind and not upset when we called to let her know the situation. We ate pizza and brownies and played with her dogs. At the end of the evening, she invited us to attend her church on Sunday evening. They were having a "Song Fest" and she really wanted us to join her. We agreed to come. Then she asked if we would want to perform a song in the program! Sister Carpenter was so excited, so we said yes! It was so weird! On Sunday evening, we met at the Methodist church building where the program had already begun. We walked in and saw that we were assigned to a position about halfway through the program. (It was a really short program, so when we arrived, it was nearly our turn) We had no idea what we were going to perform, but decided last minute to sing "Nearer My God, to Thee" A Capella. It acutally went really well. The people were super nice to us and we stayed for the dinner they had following the performances. Very unique, interesting experience!
SUNDAY:
Hahaha! Sunday was a hoot. We went to church and a lot of stuff happened. I can't even explain all the things, but by the time it was all over, we were relieved to be done. The elders were invited to the Elder and Sister Packham's house for lunch, but two of them needed a ride. We offered, and then the Packham's invited us to join them, even though they had fed us on Friday. We went over and ate stew, chips, tomatoes, and ice cream. That was all at 1 PM. We had been invited earlier in the week to lunch at the Bishop's house at 3 PM. So after the Packham's, we went over to the bishop's house. They had salmon and asparagus and a whole slew of other things, including peach pie! AFTER THAT we went to the songfest and they made us eat. Serioiusly, I think I gained 12 lbs just yesterday. It was awful and we both wanted to die, just a little bit! But we are so blessed to have so many people to offer us lunch/dinner.
This week has been strange, but then again, every week is strange. Taylor and Xandra are doing well! They will be baptized on September 12. We are working with them multiple times a week. We are really excited to be here for it! Sister Carpenter will leave me in a few weeks. I'm pretty bummed about it, but it's okay. It's been a good two transfers. It's true what they say about loving your trainer. It isn't by chance that we were put together. I needed her to be my first companion! Terre Haute is the best! The people and culture are super strange, but it grows on you! I love it and I'll be sad to leave in a few more months.
Thank you all for your support, love and prayers! I love you and I think of you a lot! You're always in my prayers! <3
Love
Sister Mondragon <3