Pinks!

Sister Coley and Call,

and Sister Soto and I after our lovely exchange.

Ye olde Shakespearean mailbox.

Popcorn! (There were some that really did look like popcorn, but we were driving, so this is the best I could do to find one of those.)

Sister Call and the Centennial Compass.

Family Dearest!

I'm sorry, but I've been dying to tell you about the blossoms so get ready: They're so amazing and beautiful! My poor companion has had to deal with me stopping a couple times every day and marveling at the trees and snapping pictures. I feel like Dad when he'd see a moose and get uncomfortably close to it to get a picture. Those poor trees, they're probably so embarrassed every time they see me coming. Anyway, the first trees to bloom were the yellow ones like at Gramma Garrard's house, then the pink/purple ones, then the daisy trees (it just looks like a bunch of gerber daisies on a tree, weird, but cute, and I didn't get a picture of those), then the magnolias, then the popcorn trees, then the weeping willows with white and pink blossoms. Ah, lovely.

Ok, sorry about that.

Other things that happened this week were...we saw Don again--the 89 year old gentleman. He is such a joy. Apparently, he used to act and sing! And he loves reading--he's already in Mosiah! But he's a little wary of all the 'fire and brimstone' talk. We talked about prayer and he doesn't think God wants to hear from him, but after some discussion said, "I'll give it a shot!' While saying so, he crooked his arm and swung it in front of him (Note from Mom: classic Missy move.)

I also got the opportunity to go on an exchange in Paterson. That's similar to Newark and Camden, but not quite as drastic. I was with Sister Soto, who lived in Brooklyn before this, and who was born in Honduras. Most of the people we saw spoke only Spanish. I've picked up a few words on my mission so far, only Gospel related ones, and can say the name of the Church in Spanish, but that's it. When we read from the scriptures I could understand pretty well what they were talking about, so that was good. And when I had something to say, Sister Soto would translate. It was quite a fun exchange. I've been wanting to try out a city, so that was kewl. At the end of the day we went to the Church where they've started doing basketball with some of the Dominican barbers they're teaching, and though only two people showed up, it was still a good experience (other missionaries were there too, not just us two with the barbers.)

We got to see a baptism yesterday of a little girl in our ward, Brigitta ( and I quite like that name I've decided). It was so special to watch her father talk to her about baptism and then baptize her. And then he confirmed her a member of the Church, and that was really sweet. And it was fun for the rest of the primary kids to see.

In Relief Society, the teacher told a story about a missionary in the Congo. As part of his responsibilities, he and his companion had to take money from somewhere to somewhere to deposit it (I know. I'm a little foggy on the details right now). One time they were biking past a group of people and stopped and talked with them for a while, and the group found out what the Elders were doing. The next week, as they were biking to the place of deposit, one of the Elders got the feeling they needed to stop biking and pray. They were in the jungle but stopped their bikes, and prayed for each other. They got back on their bikes and went on their way. The next week one of the people from the group told the Elder that they had followed them last week into the jungle, and they were planning on killing them and stealing the money, but as they got closer to them, they say 19 guards around the Elders, so the group left them alone. The missionary didn't see the guards, but later at his homecoming told the story. Someone stood up in Church and asked what day it was that that happened, and he told the newly returned missionary that that day he got a feeling he needed to pray for that missionary, so he got down on his knees in the middle of work and prayed for him. Eighteen other men in the congregation said they did the same thing that day. Wow, how neat! I thought that was so kewl!

To end, I'll just say that this month we've been focusing on the Book of Mormon chapter in Preach My Gospel and it has been great. I really love the Book of Mormon. Our zone leader, Elder Boyes, said that the last mission president told them, "The biggest way to lose faith and dabble in the sins of the day, is to stop reading the Book of Mormon." It does keep us focused and speaks to us for whatever we need to know for the day--so keep reading family. I'm loving my studies so far!

And I love you kids, and I miss you! Happy Birthday shout-outs to Shelby and Will and Popsy! And Happy Anniversary to Nate and Wobin, the happy couple!

Love you,

sister mister

Note from Mom: Missy's letter for March 26 didn't arrive today but as soon as I see it in my email, I'll type it in.

Our latest allergy medicine: honey. 'They' say eating local honey every day makes the allergies go away--so we're putting it to the test!

My most favorite willowy tree outside the Church.

This must be where Robin Hood lives. And in New Jersey, of all places!

The day we fixed our washing machine. Quite the ordeal, I can tell you.

Pictures from March 19 P-Day.

Green eggs and ham.

Taco Bell with Sister Soto at Zone lunch.

New digs.

Sister Call chopped off 9 inches!

Artwork from a member of the Ward.

Gerda and the Reindeer.

Oh what a beautiful Spring! Wish you could see it family!

There are many a budding blossom and magnolia here! Not everywhere, but round about. It's just lovely, and of course I haven't gotten a picture yet. I need to soon though, because flowers go fast! It's been very nice weather of late, and we've enjoyed the sun and the breeze, as has everyone and their dogs, bikes, and rollerblades.

This week we visited Bernice (93 years old) and she read us some lines from the upcoming Spring play at the nursing home. She's Malificent in The Quest for Sleeping Beauty (mind you, names and other info have been changed in the play, and it's much shorter than the real thing). She's pretty dramatic with her lines, so it works well. I so hope we're here when they put it on, because it will be amazing!

We've been sorting through the people the Elders taught, and they were mostly all old men. So we've been told to wait until Elders come back to teach most of them. We are however going to continue teaching Don, an 89 year old man who is quite the little gentleman. He opened the door and introduced himself, and asked which one of us was the timid one. We both weren't sure, as we're both sort of timid. He asked which one he'd spoken to on the phone, and I raised my hand. "Now, I'm going to teach you something. And don't be offended--it's just to help you. When you're on the phone, you don't have to say "umm." It sounds as though you aren't confident. But you're clearly an intelligent young woman who knows what she's talking about, so don't be so nervous on the phone." He is such a sweet, spunky old fellow, and I'm excited to continue teaching him.

After moving in, we got a call from the Websters (the senior couple in charge of housing) saying we're getting a washer and dryer in (actually, it's the same one from our old apartment). So, yay! We don't have to go to the laundromat!

Also, we had green eggs and ham for breakfast on St. Paddy's Day. It was quite tasty, as Sister Call blended spinach into the eggs to make them green. The local Irish pub had a crowd of people swaying outside of it all day, but we steered clear (obviously).

The youth in the ward are doing something "kewl" this Friday: A readathon! They all read the Book of Mormon in 3 or 4 months at the end of last year, and I think they're trying to finish the Doctrine and Covenants by the end of the school year. So they are going to the Church on Friday and reading for 30 minutes, then playing games for 30 minutes, and continuing for however many hours. What a blast--you guys should do that!

Also, I can't say enough about how cool these young folks are. The Stake President's daughter, Addie, had a great experience recently. She's a senior, but taking some college courses, and right now she's in a sociology class. They were discussing how it's a good, smart decision to live with someone before choosing whether or not to marry them. The whole class agreed, but she didn't want them to think she did, since they all know she's a Mormon. So she stated her views and what she thought, which led to a gospel discussion with her whole class, and ended with the teacher inviting Addie's father to come give a lecture on Mormonism. Awesome!

That's probably it. I miss you kids. Keep being awesome together. Fly kites, take walks, play with Winnie, and enjoy the sunshine. And share the gospel with people whilst enjoying the sunshine. Here's something you could say while the kids are on swings and you and [insert name of real person--Maude, for instance] are looking at the children affectionately: "So, Maude, you've been reading Hunger Games, right? What did you think about [insert event or character name]? [Insert talking more about that thing]. Well, you know who I think is also courageous in the face of adversity, Captain Moroni. Oh, you've never heard of Captain Moroni? Well, he did [insert things he did]." Maude will probably say something like: "Gee whiz, he sounds neat! Where did you read about him?" Then you say, "Well [insert Book of Mormon discussion and then give Maude a Book of Mormon]." See--super easy and totally normal and natural.

I love you guys!

sister mister

Dearest Darling Family!

This week has been all over the place! First, we won't be able to teach English to Sophie for a month because of something we didn't really understand over the phone. Second, we just found out we're moving to the Fardale Elder's apartment and they are being doubled out. Which means we are now covering two areas! Agh!! I'm so nervous! We've been packing up our apartment so the landlord can take pictures to rent it. And we've found a lot of random stuff, including three shoe shine kits! That's right--I'm gonna have sparkly shoes!

One of the people I told you about last week, Sarah, was sitting in Young Women's last week and had a good experience. The girls were discussing a less active young woman and what they could do to get her to come back (these young women are tops--they are all super missionaries and they are all friends). At the end of class they had a prayer, and prayed a lot for that young woman. Sarah asked her friend/employer why they were praying for her, and she told her they really care about her and want to be her friend and help her out. Sarah left Church telling her friend how much she loves going there and how everyone makes her feel. She's still reading the Book of Mormon, and wants to get a 'for sure' answer, but she already knows everything because of the lengthy discussions she has with her friend.

This week we had some time we didn't know how to fill, so we picked up trash for service. We were in our skirts, and we brought one garbage bag each. We barely made it down the block before our bags were full! And most of the garbage wouldn't be there if people kept the Word of Wisdom. So sad. But it was a lovely day and the road looked nicer, so success!

Also, some great quotes from this week: "We weren't popcorn vendors in the pre-existence."--Elder Anderson. And in describing something from the scriptures, a member used the phrase "of great doctrinal import." If you watched the 5 hour long P&P, you know what I'm talking about. (P&P stands for Pride and Prejudice.)

Last Monday was perhaps one of my best p-days out here. We got everything important done, then met our zone in Paterson to play volleyball. Mind you, my idea of playing volleyball is ducking a lot, which I did. I did hit the ball one time though (not in any particular direction) and so I was proud of that. Then I wrote letters and colored while they continued. Sister Call had an excellent nap through all of this, though she did get hit in the head with the volleyball once or twice. Then the old souls in our zone arrived. One of them spouts history info with various accents, whilst wearing newsies caps and vests. The other wears a straw hat. And the last sews and plays the accordion. They declined the invite to play volleyball, but invited us to go antiquing with them! We found a shop, but it mostly sold furniture and art. We rifled through things, and I found a swell picture that the man let me have for free. And it's titled "Gerda and the Reindeer"! it was just a really fun day, with very little stress, which can be frequent on p-day.

I hope this week is good for the lot of you. I love you so much! Here's a wink and a nudge from this one!

Love you!

sister mister

Oh berg. I forgot to bring my camera. Parsnips. Oh well, I'll get the pictures to you next week.

A lovely little Valentimes tree stump.

Sister Fantau of Twin Elms Deli and me.

A bunch of goons!

Family!

This week has been swell. First, I already told you about our Mandarin speaking Mongolian friend, who we'll be seeing tonight for our first official visit. I hope it goes well--I'm a little nervous! And we also saw Sister Fantau, a less active member who owns a deli and has super tasty ham and egg sandwiches. She always declines listening to a gospel message, but this week we slipped it in via talking technology. She loves her ipad, and I asked her if the scriptures were on it. "Oh yeah, I can look at them anytime!" "Wow, so you read them often on there?" "Yeah, it's so convenient." And then we continued talking about various apps and she now has the Ensign on there and the new Bible Videos thing! She's so great. Also, big news! When I first arrived in Fardale seven months ago, we tried arranging to teach a member's nanny who was interested in the Church. It kept falling through and never happened. Then on Sunday the member was having a baby blessing and their family was in town. The member's father came up to us and said we needed to teach their nanny Sara (rhymes with car), and we set up a time that night. And we did indeed get to see her! She told us she and her friend/member/employer Ryan talk about the gospel all the time. She loves how she feels with their family and when she comes to Church. And she'd love to be baptized. She just wants some more information. Eek! We're so excited! She seems really awesome and really prepared!

Also, if you get a card in the mail from a Bernice, she's the 93 year old we visit and when she heard what happened, she sent me a note to Utah, so that's from her. It may have gone to Sister Cope though. We're not sure which address she put on it. She's so sweet.

In other news, Sister Call is getting her hairs cut today!

Love you,

sister this one

Sisters Barrett, Torgerson, and Healy sporting the wrist warmers made by

Sister Barrett's mother.

Barret and Healy,...

...Call and Torgerson, enjoying the only non-ice cream item at Dairy Queen, a hat dwag (I guess I thought they'd have other things than dairy, but it sorta makes sense).

Sister Call with the quilt that's nice and schnuggly, that her mom sent her.

Me and the Andersons--greatest couple ever! They feed us every week and enjoy the company of us young folks, even if they don't want to hear our message. They're just swell, and they've got Minnesota accents!

Dearest Family!

I'm so glad I got to see all of you this week! It was definitely the most difficult week EVER. But I'm glad I was with you. I just have to say, we have the best family of all time. We're all so amazingly loving to each other, which is rare these days. Keep being neat!

This week we got to go to Leadership Training, which is a two day, eight hour each day, training meeting for new missionaries, plus random companionships to fill in the space. We listen to talks for an hour, then watch our leaders role play something, then we all break into groups of three and role play the thing. For instance, teaching someone about prayer and then inviting them to pray, listening to their concerns and resolving them, and re-inviting them. And in between each training we'd eat fruit and then lunch. It was so much fun! I felt like I was at a business seminar (I don't know what those entail, but either way if felt official). And this time was more fun than the first time, because although I typically dislike role plays, I'm getting more comfortable doing them. And we had a special musical number by our zone leader playing the guitar and the harmonica at the same time. So that was swell!

We also have great news! We got a referral the other day and went to visit her. We knocked on her door, and she ushered us in, showed us to the couch, then started cleaning everything around us. Then she asked if we'd like some tea, and gave us water when we asked if water would be okay. Then she and her husband sat down in front of us and just looked at us. So we started asking about them, and found out, mostly from her husband, that she wants to learn English. She prayed to have people sent to her to teach her English. So, Sister Call and I are the new English teachers to a Mongolian woman who speaks Mandarin! We will see how this goes--please pray for us!

Keep me posted on any goings-on, and pet the puppy for me if you see her. And squeeze the kids to beans for me! And kids, give your proud parents a wink from this one!

I love you so much!

sister mistipher