A Surplus Of Service And Social Media

In case y'all weren't aware, I love alliteration (multiple words starting with the same letter or sound. In this case, the letter S). Kind of running out of ideas for email titles. When I don't know what to call it, my mind turns to rhymes and alliteration. :)

- I didn't explain the park in my last email. XD

- Going to some members for Thanksgiving dinner! :D

- I'm a mission Dumpster Baby (mission lingo; not an insult, haha)

- Train and bus rides

- Mustard Seed

- Surprise at the mall :0  

- Tried to give someone a Book of Mormon 

- Mustard Seed round two! :D

- Service with an above ground pool

- wEiRdOeS messaging me on Facebook XD

- Lots of calls not answered :l

- Yay, ear infection. -_- 

- Dropping off Jesus pictures and Books of Mormon! :D

- Yard work service

- Chapel tour

- Awesome lessons and neat analogy! ^v^

- Getting invited to dinner again! :D

Okay, last P-Day was Thanksgiving, as I mentioned. We met as a district for a picnic. The Elders brought way more food than we expected, because they didn't get invited to dinner with anyone. :'(   (Please make sure your local missionaries get fed! They need it!)  

The place was called Rundle Park, I think. It was SO windy and cold. I was wrapped up in blankets the whole time, haha. The Elders brought turkey, mashed potatoes, ham, a whole Costco chicken, soda, and sweet potatoes. Some sisters brought cookies and shrimp. Sister Christmas and I had volunteered to bring plates and silverware, but we forgot. One of the Elders was like, "Alright! So who brought the plates?" *insert chirping crickets* 

We were all awkwardly silent. Then, Sister Christmas and I admitted that we forgot. XD  Everyone started getting creative. We would take chunks of turkey, ham, or chicken, and pile mashed potatoes on them. A couple of us--me included--scooped potatoes on cookies. It was weird, but good. We shared crazy mission stories, then crossed the bridge and skipped chunks of mud across the river. I was so cold I couldn't feel my nose and feet, but it was nice to be able to spend time with the district.

Sister Christmas and I got invited to spend Thanksgiving dinner with some members! We can't eat I houses, so they set up a table on their porch. Halfway through the meal--which was delicious--their cat caught a little mouse. We coaxed the cat into dropping the mouse and I rustled some leaves across the yard to distracr him while the mouse got away. The poor cat kept sniffing around looking for the mouse long after it escaped. XD

The other day, Sister Christmas called me her Dumpster Baby. I was so confused, but then she explained. When someone is transferred halfway through training, it's like they're abandoned by their previous trainer. XD  She was like, "Well... you had two mission moms (trainers), so your Dumpster was on fire!" I love all the mission lingo! 

We missed a bus on Tuesday, so we walked to the train station. One of my first times riding a train. :l  I was so nervous. I managed to get off at the right stop, though! We caught a bus after that, but it took some wrong turns so we were late for service. 

At the Mustard Seed, we helped pack lunches of potatoes, chicken drumsticks, and veggies (cauliflower and broccoli). Sister Christmas put in the potatoes and chicken while I scooped in the broccoli and cauliflower. It was rather repetitive, but fun, because we got to talk to the other volunteers there.

We went to meet someone at a mall. She canceled on us, though, so Sister Christmas decided to practice my contacting skills. She was like, "See that lady over there? Compliment her coat!"  

I blurted out, "Hi, I like your coat!"  Then the lady actually stopped. She scrutinized us and asked, "Do I know you?"  I told her probably not. But then, Sister Christmas recognized her from a time she'd been to the mall before. She had actually complimented this lady on a different coat! (Crazy! The Lord placed her in the path of missionaries again! :0)  We had a nice conversation, and I hope we'll be able to contact her again. :)

We've been dropping off pictures of Jesus Christ to people who responded to a Facebook ad. We tried to give a Book of Mormon to one lady. She was all enthusiastic, then she saw the cover and backed off. :l  Welp, we tried.

This Thursday at the Mustard Seed, we helped season and prepare beef. We opened at least 50 pounds of it, broke it up, spread seasoning and oil on it, then massaged the seasoning into the meat. It was cold and made my fingers go numb. XD  The spices and seasoning smelled really good, though! And if my nose could pick it up, it must have been amazing! 

There was this lady that needed help draining an above-ground pool. We fished apples out of it because it was under an apple tree. We also collapsed one of the sides to let the water out. I tried to stay dry at first, then my tennis shoes got swamped so I was like, :l , oh well! I've gotten wetter at SeaQuest (the aquarium I used to work at). I basically just stood on the edge and let all the scummy water flow over my shoes. XD 

Sister Christmas and the lady's daughter lifted the pool from the other side to help it drain. They kept walking forward so gravity would push out all the apples and water. It was so thick with green growth--lots of moss and pond scum--that I could barely see the bottom even though it was only a couple inches deep. Towards the end, I saw something glimmering in the water. It was a random, massive kitchen knife with a thick blade the length of my forearm! :0  I told everyone to stop, then waded in and pulled out the knife. XD  

I've had a lot of people messaging me on Facebook. I had my first experience with someone my companion called 'an online Bible basher'. He would send me pretty much hourly arguments and stuff. All very old and outdated. He would say ridiculous things like, "Why are you not Christian? Why is the Mormon God different?"  Sir, we believe in the same Supreme Being. The name of the church is literally "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints."  I eventually just blocked him because he got super argumentative and ignored everything I said. :l  Oh well. I don't want to bash.

Makes me think of a saying I heard a long time ago. Something along the lines of, "Never play chess with a pigeon. It doesn't matter what strategy you use or how well you play. Even if you win, the pigeon will strut across the board, scatter your pieces, poop everywhere, and crow that he is the victor."

We've had a couple of times where almost no one will answer our calls. Or they will, only to hang up or suddenly say they're busy after they near that we're missionaries. *shrug*  I'll take rejection over the phone to getting a door slammed in my face. XD  We have had some successful calls, though!

I've had an ear infection this week. It started a while ago and just slowly got worse. My companion finally had me call a doctor. Luckily, my symptoms were basic enough that he just phoned in a prescription, so there was no long waiting period. I've been taking some eardrops that have been working well. I just have to lay down and let them sit in my ear, and when I stand up to clean them out, I stagger around like a zombie because it wrecks my balance. XD  I'm so grateful for modern medicine, though! 

Our mission has been advertising free pictures or Jesus on Facebook. Sister Christmas and I have been dropping off some pictures to people that respond to the adds. We tried to give one lady a Book of Mormon as well, but she wasn't having it. I won't let that put a damper on my spirits, though. There have been other receptive people. 

We did some more yard work this week. We went to the same lady's house as last week. She was super sweet and gave us hot chocolate. :D  We got the rest of her garden and yard prepared for winter. It was actually a fairly warm day, so it was nice to be out. 20 degrees Celsius, or 68 for those of you who run on Fahrenheit. 

We did a chapel tour for some returning members. Basically,  we walked them around the church and explained all the different rooms and what happens inside of each of them. The chapel, the gym, the Bishop's office, classrooms, the relief society room, nursery. They had lots of questions about all the beautiful artwork, so Sister Christmas and I took turns talking about the paintings. There are some in this church that I haven't seen before and they're just gorgeous! 

We've had a few neat lessons with some people we met on Facebook. One of them was a super spiritual man from Africa. He said he's been seeking a church for a long time, but he doesn't like that most churches segregate. :(  We taught him about the Restoration and shared a verse in 2 Nephi in which the Lord calls all to come unto him, "black and white, bond and free, male and female." We're going to meet with him again and I'm so excited!

He also shared a neat analogy about how a variety of people were needed for a church. He was saying that to build a house in Africa, one needs stone, water, sand, and other components to make cement. They also use different parts of trees and plants for the roof. If someone tried to make a house out of just stone, just sand, or just the plants, it wouldn't be a good house. I live this analogy! Everyone is able to bring something different to the church, and the Lord loves all of our unique talents and abilities.  :)

We got invited to another dinner yesterday. It was so fun! The family was the Spitzers (I can say member family names, but not non-members because of privacy laws.)  They had three hyper spaniels and two playful cats that loved attention. We set up tables and chairs outside because at the moment, missionaries can't eat indoors. The nice weather persisted, though, and it was super fun! 

I wish all of you the best! Keep up a daily habit of prayer and scripture study! :)

Love,

Sister Howard 

Some pictures! They always seem to send out of order, so there's not much point in numbering them -_-

There's the leopard and goat picture I'm working on (see if you can find all twelve hidden hearts! :D) and some cat sketches. Fall leaves, funny Halloween decorations, and then a cute cat (with Sister Christmas in the background.) Also, finally got a good picture of a hare! He's starting to turn white for winter. Enjoy!