Semana 35- The One with the Mean Schnauzer

I'll be titling my weekly emails like Friends episodes from now on just to liven things up haha!  

     That really was the thing that made this week different. I finally passed that milestone of my mission and got bit by a nasty little schnauzer! I wanted to drop kick the little thing to Timbuktu, but the owner was watching! It didn't get my skin, because it went for my foot and got a mouthful of shoe but it still pinched a bit! I'm just glad it didn't ruin my shoe! (I was wearing my favorite red ones!)

Anyways...

     Thanks to all the sweet postcards and letters! Makes me feel like a celebrity or something haha! 

     This week we've been talking to lots of people. Some nice, some not so nice but that's nothing new! Octavio and Carmen couldn't come to church this week because of work issues! They want to come sooo bad, all they're waiting for is for Octavio's boss to hire some more people so he can have Sundays off, because they won't let him right now! They've been praying and reading as a family and praying that he'll be able to have Sundays off soon! So hopefully they'll get to come soon!

     Not a ton happened this week, but we'll be getting transfer calls this Saturday, so we'll see what happens! Can't believe how fast this one has flown by! CRAZINESS.

     And Easter's coming up! Remember the reason for Easter! Christ overcame death so that we can all do the same if we follow Him! I love you all so much, but He loves you even more!  

Hasta luego! 

Hermana Sarah Mohun

We've been walking a lot...

It really isn't as bad as it looks! The inside of my shoes just rubbed off on my heels haha! Late April fools!

P.S. I am so addicted to the Frozen soundtrack it's kind of bad haha! I 've been thinking of my own missionary version to the snowman song!

Do you want a Book of Mormon?

Come on just take a look!

All of the answers that you're searching for

To life and so much more

Are in this book!

You think you're life is perfect,      

Well it's not!

Let me just tell you why!!

Do you want a Book of Mormon

I think you want a Book of Mormon!

(door slam)

Ok bye....

This is what we think of while tracting! Can you come up with a good second verse???

Semana 34- WE'RE GOING TO CHINA!

     That's what our zone leaders told us anyway. In the middle of district meeting they all came running in and shouting "WE'RE GOING TO CHINA!"  and we were like "what the what?" Then they said "President just got a call from Church headquarters saying that China has opened its borders to missionaries, but they're not going to announce it till conference, but they've already chosen several groups of missionaries from different missionas around the world to open it up and they chose our district, and so to have time to learn the language and get a good foundation for the new mission you'll all be getting a 6 month extension to your missions! So get packed up! You're heading out May 1!" They still haven't admitted that they were April fooling us! But I heard no such announcement at general conference. I didn't buy it even when they first said it, but it was fun to daydream what it'd be like! 

     So I'd better brush up on my Chinese, since everyone's gonna expect me to be fluent because of how Asian I apparently look! Our zone leader said to me at dinner this week. "So Hermana Mohun, what race are you exactly?" Elders are really good at making small talk. 

      

     I absolutely loved general conference! We had two investigators come to the Sunday morning session! So we had to watch it in Spanish, but having it start out with President Uchtdorf right off the bat was just what our investigators needed! And they got to hear the prophet! 

     I think they got a lot out of it, all I can say is that the next Ensign can't come out fast enough! I could understand most of what the first speakers said, but the last half hour my brain was so done I really wonder what was in that session.

Remember those miracle people that we met? Carmen and Ocatvio? Carmen is all the way to mid Alma in the Book of Mormon and she's only been reading since last Tuesday! Putting me and my 80 day challenge to shame!

Well I have  to go, but I hope you are all doing great! Les quiero mucho!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 33- Poco a poco con paciencia

Little by little with patience is how i'm going to be

And in His time I'll have found,

How much He's changed in me 

     A pretty little thought that just came to my mind. Maybe I'll make it into a longer poem, but for now, it pretty much sums up how I'm feeling.

     When I take a step back and really think about what I'm doing now, and what I was doing a year ago, the difference is like night and day. The process is slow, but I guess if the change is going to last, it has to be ingrained into me through days after days of trying my best, until it becomes a part of me and who I am. It just shows how much missions are really just preparing us for the rest of our lives. I am so grateful to be serving one!

I love you all, sorry this email is so short!

Den les cielo!

Hermana Sarah Mohun 

Semana 32- A Ray of Light!

Hola!
     This week has definitely been one of the hardest of my whole mission. 
     So we started out this week with almost no investigators, so we decided we should probably spend some good time finding and OYMing. Problem was, the other sisters were on a tracting spree because of a zone OYM goal, so a lot of our area has been tracted really recently so no one is giving us much of a chance. We've been trying phone OYMing, but that hasn't proved to be very effective either. But we had been getting referrals and having a few lessons! But....they all ended up being out of our area or spoke English. I'd really been trying my hardest to be exactly obedient, and be worthy of the spirit, but we were just having no luck at all! We were doing our best to not be discouraged by the few lessons we were having and lack of new investigators, when our ray of light appeared just yesterday evening! We stopped by an investigating couple we hadn't been able to get in contact with for nearly a week, and they were home and they only had a few minutes, but we talked about the Book of Mormon and it was really powerful, and we invited them to be baptized right then and there! It just felt like the right thing to do! They said they would when they know it's true, and so we gave them a date to prepare to be baptized on. And they were like "Of course! Why wouldn't we? Our family needs this!" And it was just so awesome! 

But wait! There's more!

     We felt that we should try a certain former in an area that hasn't seen much success by missionaries in the past, but a lady let us right in! She had been wanting to meet with the missionaries again because she had finally quit her job, and she and her husband had just been talking earlier that week about needing God to be their foundation for their family and home! So they were freaking out over that for the whole lesson! They really want it for their family and their own relationship as husband and wife and they are just so eager to learn and to accept the gospel it's so amazing! Miracles!!! Yesterday made all of last week worth it.

Well that's about it!

Oh! Weirdest thing I've eaten so far now is goat meat at Maria and Elmer's wedding! 

I love you all so so much! Take care y den les cielo! (give 'em heaven!)

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 31- One Bite at a Time

Hola,

     So remember in my last email I was saying how I felt do bad for those poor sisters who had to be doubled into Royal and how I couldn't even imagine how it must be and how I hoped it never happened to me????

WELP. IT HAPPENED.

     Apparently someone thought it'd be funny to sweep in Sister Mohun without telling her. Yep. I got doubled out of Royal and at the transfer site found out I was getting doubled into Moxee. And boy is Moxee different than Royal. I'm not even just serving in Moxee. I'm serving in Moxee, a place called Union Gap (which I think is a part of Yakima, not sure), and Terrace Heights. And it's soooo big! We have a GPS that our DL gave us and we get lost a ton still. Well not too much anymore, but those first two days were rough. 

     Well I shouldn't complain. We did get a baptism!!! Yeaah! Her name is Lidia and she is the sweetest thing! She's 11 years old and she'd recently moved to Union Gap, and had already taken the lessons before and wanted to be baptized. The other sisters have been getting her through the lessons these past two weeks but we finished them off! And she was just confirmed Sunday!

     As for my companion her name is Hermana Hannah Williams and she's from Dallas Fort Worth, Texas. She's been out 14 months, and this was her first time getting swept too! She's super great in lessons! So sincere and loving, and she tries her best in all she does! I know I'm going to learn a lot from her!

     I have a lot to learn in general! It's funny how different the work is and the different missionaries in every area. We serve in the Spanish branch, but it covers like half of Yakima!  Union Gap, Moxee, and Terrace Heights are only a part of it! So there are 8 missionaries serving in the branch, and we are the only sisters. For the first time on my mission, the elders in my district outnumber the sisters. This wouldn't have been weird at all if I had served like 2 years ago! Naw, I love my district (in a completely mission appropriate way! Haha! ).

     I think my Spanish is really going to sky rocket here! No English work, and not many of the Spanish people know English! I know that I'm going to love it here, even though it's hard right now, I know it doesn't last forever! I just have to remember the old saying: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! I love how I manage to bring up eating/food in a lot of my emails haha!

     Hmmm what else??? Hermana Bernson is my Sister Training Leader! We're not in the same zone, but they're super close, so I'm glad I'll get to see her occasionally! I'm definitely gonna miss being her companion!

 

     Oh, and President Ware has asked for us all to be doing this 80 day Book of Mormon challenge, which I'm totally owning right now! We even have these little bookmarks that track our daily reading!

 

Pues, no tengo mucho tiempo mas, pero sepan que les quierp mucho, y espero que ustedes estan bien! EL SENOR VIVE! LA IGLESIA ES VERDADERA!

Den les cielo!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Picturas de Royal

Crab legs!

Maria and Elmer's Wedding!

Silly Sister Bernson

Semana 30- Dang it Jim! I'm a missionary, not a wedding planner!

Hola!

     Well two of our investigators, Elmer and Maria are getting married soon but we already had the reception that we've been helping them plan for a while. We helped set up everything with the branch AND we were the photographers. It ended up being simple, but sweet. Still had a distinct catholic feel, with the dances and traditions they do. All church appropriate, just different than white people wedding receptions. Not a complete disaster anyways!  

     Elmer and Maria are so ready for baptism, but legal problems are getting in the way of them getting married but it's all getting worked out and they should be getting baptized within the next two weeks. But I won't know unless I get a call because I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED AGAIN!!! AND SO IS SISTER BERNSON!! WHAT THE WHAT? I can't seem to stay in an area for more than 2 transfers. I'll be going to Moxee, which won't be too far from Yakima (Sister Bernson's new area). I've never even heard of this place before! I'll also be serving with Hermana Williams. I think I may have met her my very first day in the field and we rode in the same car part of the way because she was getting transferred. Well, the Lord wants what the Lord wants, and He knows best, so I'll follow along faithfully.
     There are so many people here in Royal that are so close to baptism! Elmer and Maria, the Salas family, Jacob and Jose. We had a lesson with him last night and we went in fully intending to drop him, because he hadn't been progressing. He was doing good things, but was still afraid to fully commit himself to the things we've been inviting him to do. Everything he did he was lukewarm about. But going into that lesson he was SO DIFFERENT. He was wearing a coat and tie and dress pants! Which is so not like Jose AT ALL. And he's been reading The Book of Mormon from the beginning and he understood the story and made notes and had questions. He's been praying and feeling good when he does it. So we invited him to pray about April 12 as a baptism date, and we'll follow up with him tomorrow on that! So hopefully he'll be on date before we leave! 

     We've been having such success out here this last week. We finally hit our goal of having 10 investigators at church and we got 11! The Lord has definitely been blessing our efforts to work harder than ever this transfer.
     The members have been awesome too! Driving us out to this new part of our area that we didn't even know existed called Wanapum village. VERY native american- I just love that culture- and VERY set in their ways. But we do have new investigator there. Her name is Tasha Buck and her brother passed away recently and was really open to our message. We got invited to a big feast that the tribe will be having and I'm pretty bummed we won't be able to go to that! I hope these new sisters will be able to click with her as well as we did.

     We also received a referral from mormon.org for this guy named Joe who lives in Wanapum village. So we called him and he said he was already a member! So we were like " why did you refer yourself then?" and he was like "Well the real referral is for my friend Eric and I just wanted to be there when you went over". Well Eric is legit. Has a true friend in Joe who can answer all his questions. Weird thing is, he's actually from Spokane, but works at the Wanapum dam (apparently there's a crack in it)  so he's there during the week and in Spokane the weekends, and he meets with other sisters there. So we had to get permission to talk to those sisters in the Spokane mission and coordinate lessons with them. Kind of complicated and I feel so bad for these sisters who are getting thrown into all this. I would not want to get swept into an area. (swept = both you and your comp are new to the area so you don't know the members, the investigators, the area, nothing. Scary.)

 

So I have had a lot to write about today, but here's a cool story:

     So there's this sister in my zone and her sister was part of that story in the Philippines with the typhoon and they had to escape from the apartment. I hope you know of the story. It's really famous right now, and they're making a movie about it and so when you see it in theatres in 2 years, I can say I know the family who it's about! It's super weird how small the world is!

     It's also weird how many people don't seem to understand we're not wedding planners, photographers, language teachers, housing realtors, car mechanics, baby sitters, veterinarians, therapists, or marriage counselors or soloists. Seriously though, the things people think we can/know how to do! It's not annoying at all, I just love to laugh about it!

WELL I'LL BE IN MOXEE THIS TIME NEXT WEEK, I LOVE YOU ALL SOOO MCUH!

HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 29- How great the plan of our God!

HOLA!

     We've had a pretty awesome week this week! Marilyn got baptized!!!!! Woohooo!! I am so happy for her I could cry, and I did at the actual baptism! It was so great! She's changed so much since when I first met her, but she'd already been changing before I ever came to Royal. It's amazing how the gospel changes us for the better when we actually apply it! I just want it for everyone! 

Side note: It amazes me how dumb we are as humans. Every time we choose wrong, we know perfectly well that no lasting happiness can ever come from it. Yet how many times a day to we choose wrong? Not even breaking a serious commandment. Anything that doesn't make us happy in the long run, is from Satan. Not doing homework leads to poor grades and disappointment from ourselves and parents, eating bad foods make us feel sick, breaking the commandments leads to guilt and shame. That's all Satan has to offer. Temporary pleasure for long term suffering. Whereas when we do what Heavenly Father wants we get good grades and better job opportunities, knowledge, self esteem, our bodies are healthier and we have a peace of conscience that can only be had through keeping the commandments. (And let's not forget the celestial kingdom and eternal families) 

     Is it hard? Yes. Is it worth it? Heck yes! Will we make errors? Sometimes, and probably more than we'd care to admit, but that's what the Atonement's for.  HOW GREAT IS THE PLAN OF OUR GOD! AND HOW STUPID IS SATAN'S PLAN. Send that one back to the drawing board! Wow I went on a tangent.

I just have a lot of strong feelings on this!!!

Sorry for my rant on the human race. Just choose the right, people. It's better that way.

I love you all so much! Can't believe thhow fast this transfer has gone by. We'll get a call on Saturday, so we'll see what happens!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 28- WANNA STUFF SOME CHOCOLATE IN MA FAAAAAAAAACE

Hope you know what that's from because I'm OBSESSED with that soundtrack hahahaha. It's great!

     Soooooo. We had an appointment set up last Sunday night and this girl came out (A young women, who is amazing! Becca) And the people weren't there. So we were like "Hmmm... what should we do?" Well, Marilyn really likes Becca so we were like let's go pick Mari up and go to Becca's grandma's house for a lesson. We've been trying to get Marilyn to go to a members home for SOOOOOOOOOO long. But, she never would. She always wanted to do it at her house. Well, long story short we had a GREAT lesson! The next day? We got a text from her that said "Sisters, I have to tell you something" So we go over, and guess what?? "I prayed. And I want to get baptized on March 1!" Ohhhhhh my gosh.... Talk about bawl baby. I just started crying because I was so freaking happy!!! Wanna know something even cooler?? March first was the date we prayed about and extended to her a couple months ago. And she chose March 1 not remembering that was the "original date" How great is that?? Marilyn is getting baptized!!! Oh my word.... that peace that she is slowly starting to find? Is just going to rain on her! I can't even wait for her to feel that. And to feel the difference between feeling the spirit and having it as a sidekick. 

     Sooooo funny story! We have this awesome couple we are teaching. Carlos and Marta. And we asked someone for his number so that we could call and invite/remind them of church instead of having to go over. Well.... Carlos was drunk. Really drunk. and kept calling us and texting us and wanted to know where we were and where we lived and all this great stuff. And we were like, what the Carlos? Well, we invited him to church and all. And crossed our fingers he'd come and we'd figure out what the heck is going on? Well we told all our leaders about it and they were all worried like "What the, really?" Long story short. I called him again... wrong number. Still named Carlos. Sounded like Carlos. And he was going along with everything we were saying so he fully convinced us that he was THE Carlos. Hahahaha people are freaks.

     I really can't think of what has happened this week? Uhhh... We had Zone Conference. That was great! I love President and Seeeester Ware. They're great. Life is great, isn't it?

I hope you're all doing awesome!

Love you all to the moon and back!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 26- IT SNOWED

Hola Everybody!

     I love the snow!!!  Snow in royal is different from any other snow. When it snows, the wind blows like crazy and there are drifts. Some places it's about and inch, and others it's up to your knees!

Our car (we call him abuelo malibu) is not made for snow. We've gotten stuck twice so far. The last time it was turning into the drive way of a members and the snow had made it look wider than it actually was so we went into a small ditch.  So I got out and started for the back of the car and I fell into a deeper part of this invisible snow covered ditch. The snow was literally up to my waist when I stood back up and I was covered in snow! It was so much fun! I'm sure Sister Bernson thought I was crazy, but I really do love the snow!

BUT not when it cancels church.

     Yesterday we got a phone call from President Ware telling us if our church meetings had been canceled (and they had) that we should use the day as a day of rest and service . That we should go about looking for service opportunities, but on foot because he didn't want anyone driving. Well when we explained that every house was about 2 miles apart and we probably wouldn't be able to drive our car, he told us that he'd pick us up and we would have a little sacrament meeting with him and his counselor, Jerry Allred and his family. It was super fun and sweet. The Allred family is basically half of Royal and so it was pretty snug!

This whole week has been one big white blur, and I'm out of time!

I love you all though very much!

Tengan una buena semana!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 25- Shoot for the Moon!

If you miss you'll end up among the stars! I have a feeling that saying wasn't terribly comforting to the astronauts on the apollo missions. Just saying. Anywho....

HOLA.

     Our zone went on a tour of a member's dairy today. It was pretty cool. I saw a cow give birth! A couple elders drank milk straight from the dirty utter. THAT was gross. But I got to see all the baby cows! One slobbered all over my hand like a dog. The whole place smelled but I was expecting that and all in all it was pretty fun!

     This transfer Sister Bernson and I have set some pretty high goals, but the amazing thing is that they are totally within our reach. These past few weeks we've really been focusing on finding, and we have found some really great families! Now we are  focusing on teaching the fruits of our fining efforts and getting them fellowshipped by the ward and branch so that they can be all the more ready for baptism someday soon! And if we do all  we can to be worthy of having the spirit with us in our teaching there is noreason why we should not believe that we can have quite a few baptisms this transfer. I firmly believe that as we exercise our faith we are blessed with the Lords vision and what He really can do through worthy instruments! Miracles are happening and even more are on the way!

I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 24- Time stops for no man. Unless that man is a missionary. Then time kicks into high gear. What the heck time?

HOLA!

     Oh my goodness a whole other transfer. GONE. 

     As for changes. Hermana Bernson and I are staying together! YAY! But a lot of people are leaving the Othello zone. Including Hermana Porter :(

     But I know that we're getting a lot of really awesome missionaries in their places! I just can't wait to meet them all!

Something rather interesting happened this week. We got another hermana in our companionship! Her name is Hermana Rockhill and although she's only been out a transfer longer than me, she's one of the best missionaries I've ever met. It's rather humbling to be serving with her, but I am learning a lot! And she is the cutest thing ever! Unfortunately, she's only staying with us 'til Wednesday, but she'll still be in our zone, and also serving in the same Spanish branch as us!

     As for the area we have been finding soooo many new houses that we don't think have ever been knocked into by the missionaries before! Just little pockets of trailers just filled with Mexicans who let us in! We've found quite a few potentials this week! Royal is crazy the way people react to the gospel! I love it!

     Hermana Bernson and Rockhill are making missionary work way fun! And its awesome being in  a trio because we don't have to drag a member to come out tracting with us in case we run into a guy who wants to let us in. 

     Holy snap this hour and a half flew. 

Please know that I love you all and am praying for you! 

Abrazos y besos!

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 23- Little by Little, Hearts Will Turn..

HOLA EVERYONE!

     We've had a ton of miracles here this past week! 3 solid on dates for baptism! It's taken them a long time and a lot of missionaries for them to feel ready to take this next step in progressing in the gospel but I am so proud of them!

     2 are a couple: Maria and Elmer who have been taking the discussions for nearly are year and a half and have the cutest 2 little boys. We extended to them a date and Elmer looked kind of out of it. But a minute later he just starts smiling and laughing and saying how he'd do it. He said in one minute he had a kind of flash back to how his life used to be and all the good things the gospel has brought him and changes he's made and how he's happier now, and he told us that he knows he's meant to get baptized  on March 8. They'll be married a week before that in the church!

     Last and definitely not least is Marilyn. She has been through so much in her life, and I know I've already talked about her before in emails, but I just love her so much and was so happy when she accepted to be baptized on March 1st. I have seen her change so much, just in the few short weeks I've known her and I know why. She really started reading from the Book of Mormon. It really is the most powerful tool we have as missionaries to change people's lives! I just wish more people would read it with such an open heart as Marilyn. 

     And just for icing on the cake, her little brother  Michael wants to take the lessons too! And before he wouldn't give the missionaries the time of day!

I JUST LOVE THE CHURCH SO MUCH!
I don't want to come home! How is it already almost February?

Hermana Sarah Mohun

Semana 22- Another Day Another Destiny

HOLA!

     We had an awesome week this week, but it was also a pretty tough one too!

     As a missionary you learn pretty fast that the nice houses are 9xs out of 10 have people who are REALLY not interested and are not afraid to let you know it.

     People are also not happy here when you knock on their doors during a Seahawks game. Learning something new every day out here!

     It was during a Seahawks game with winds up to 50 miles an hour and we were knocking the rich white people area that we found a former that missionaries have been trying to find for years! She has a ton of potential and I am so glad we didn't turn back before we met her! The "just one more house" attitude really pays off! God blesses the extra effort by the buckets!

What else happened this week?

     SNOW! A whole half inch! I was rolling in it and my poor companion just laughed. A half inch is not really snow when you're from Utah!

     I ate cactus! Is it sad how up to this point the weirdest thing I'd eaten was spongebob macaroni and cheese?

     And I sang in the Spanish branch!

Sorry this email is super short, I cannot concentrate!

BUT I LOVE YOU ALL VERY MUCH!

Hermana Sarah Mohun