Shoulder Squirrels and Unknowns

Hello, dearest friends and family!

My Zone

This week has been a continuance of the trio adventure, and we're not sure what's coming next! Dunno if I mentioned this last week, but we as a Zone are reading the Book of Mormon in one transfer. We started about a week late, so that's 14 pages per day. It's been interesting.

Monday evening we started the new member lessons with a recent convert, Sister Trent! She and her husband are preparing to go to the temple and be sealed pretty soon! :D They're super sweet. Brother Trent is going in today for a heart procedure, so please pray for him!

Tuesday we went to our other service at Halifax Urban Ministries, which I shall hereby refer to as the HUM. It's a homeless outreach/prevention organization. We mostly bagged a bunch of rice.

BUT THEN. A man walked in with a squirrel on his shoulder. A SHOULDER SQUIRREL. He rescued the squirrel when it was a couple weeks old after its mother died. Now it's super tame and just scurries around his shoulders, wearing a tiny harness. Its name is Mr. Dolly. I PET A SQUIRREL.

We did some tracting and finding and met some people Sister Peterson doesn't know really well. I realized that I'm pretty rusty at on the spot lessons. We met Steve, and I just wasn't expecting him to actually be receptive. But he's awesome! His dad used to be LDS. And he just had a son, born 2 months premature. He's just super open to listening and learning right now.

Wednesday we knocked on a door simply because it had the same house number as one of the places I used to live. Again, wasn't expecting someone actually interested. But Cheyenne is interested, and wants her husband to listen too! :D :D They've been married less than a year and are expecting a baby boy!

Started new member lessons with K..... Man I love that family. She's going to start reading the Book of Mormon daily, and Anthony said he'd help remind her.

Thursday we had ZTM and again focused a ton on using the Book of Mormon in teaching. Favorite part: "Every missionary that does the Lord's will WILL see miracles, even if only within themselves." Then we all went and got pizza together. I am poor this month. So poor.

Met a less active part member family and their FAT FAT CATS. SO FAT. She wants our help in explaining hell and damnation to her 5 year old grandson. So that's fun.

I also got my first "there's no soliciting here".

"We're not soliciting, sir, we're just offering help!"

"That is soliciting."

"Um, actu...mmm...okay." *Christlike thoughts, Christlike thoughts*

*rolls eyes*

Friday, service at the Jewish Federation. Toilet paper in bags. It's nice to be useful while just sitting there and talking. :P

Weekly planned. Then I played pool with myself while my companions were useful and wrote an email to the ward council.

Taught Khelseigh the Plan of Salvation! She had some awesome questions and thoughts. That kid's going places.

We were all feeling silly and weird when we went to ice cream with the Corders. Elder Corder said we were acting drunk. :P

Saturday we went to the HUM's soup kitchen and prepared salads and fruit, then plates of food for the homeless in the area. Such a cool and humbling experience. Some of the people are just so sincerely grateful and it's astounding to see.

That night for our message at dinner (we get fed every day here and it's weird) we just had a little testimony meeting and shared our testimonies of the Book of Mormon with the Sproges. Turns out it was exactly what he needed. The Spirit is there when testimonies are borne! Share yours!

Sunday was

Interesting.

The stake got realigned and they created a new ward. So our ward is now tiny. Our area, minuscule. We're not sure how this affects us yet, so we just go about business as though no change has happened until we're updated. We might be moved up to the new Palm Coast ward. Who knows.

I just don't want to pack everything up again. xP

Today I bought two pairs of dress pants for like 3 bucks. Dunno if either of them will work, but hey. THREE DOLLARS.

Anyway, this week has been amazing for us in knowing where to go and what to share with people. Maybe it's blessings from our Book of Mormon reading. If any of y'all are up to it, try reading the Book of Mormon in 5 weeks (about 14 pages per day)! If not, do it by the end of the year. You have to read only a little over 2 pages per day for that. I know it brings blessings, because I've seen them this week! :)

Love you all.

Love,

Sister Stevenson

I sat down to write notes for less actives and
Sister Sorensen thought it was hilarious.

Trioooo

I made a mountain of bubbles. :D

Trying to get into people's houses. For real though.

THIS DOG'S NAME IS BILLY BOY AND I LOVE HIM

Zone! Sister Glover is dying.

Three Sisters in a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment. PARTY

HELLO DEAREST FRIENDS AND FAMILY

This week has certainly been an adventure. Adjusting to being in a
trio is fun. We have a small apartment with three beds smashed into
one room. None of us quite know how to adequately feed ourselves.
We'll figure it out. This area is SO pretty. 

We also live right above Elder and Sister Corder, and they are
awesome. We have ice cream with them every Friday night. :)
Most of this week has been meeting people. Lots of people. I'll spare
y'all the details on every single person. :P


This week...
So Monday we said goodbye to the most important people. And finished
up packing and cleaning out the duplex. :( The blessed North Sisters helped
us until about 2 am. I will seriously miss that place and those people. After nearly 6 months, it feels like home.

Tuesday we drove up to the mission office, and Sister Petty went off
to her new area with her new companion. I stayed there for a couple hours
while waiting for my ride. My new STLs, Sister Brady and Sister
Glover, got me and all my stuff and we trekked up here! Met
Sister Peterson and greeted Sister Sorensen. :)

We got to meet Bishop Crookston on the first day; they took us out to
dinner. Apparently this ward has people moving in and out pretty
constantly, and it's really hard to keep track of people. So we've
made a goal to find as many less actives as we can, especially those
who nobody seems to know anything about.

Wednesday we had District meeting and met everyone. Sister Sorensen
and I are the only new people in the District.

Afterward we had our first lesson as a trio with Deanie, a super
promising lady who has started to read the Pearl of Great Price. The
Corders came too. With five missionaries, it was kind of a lot, haha.
But we managed to answer a lot of her questions and steer back on
topic fairly well.

We met our family on date for baptism! They're so awesome. K
is 14 and super sweet. Anthony and Amanda still have some things to
work on but we're so excited for them! They have two other kids, H
and R, who are adorable.

Unpacked most of my crap which made me feel better.

Thursday we met Brother Zancker and he's my favorite. We visit him
once a week and he builds a campfire for us. His house is a trailer
that he's added onto and painted. He has a fat cat named Jasper. He's
so funny and full of energy and just great to talk to. :D

Friday we did service at the Jewish Federation. We go there and one
other place every week. They give out food and supplies to those in
need. Since Easter was coming up, it was a bit crazier than normal.
People were so, so grateful though, for simple things like cooking
oil. It was awesome.

We went to our ward's game night and met some more people. I don't
remember anyone's name at this point. But I'll get there. :P
Ended the day with ice cream with the Corders and Brother Nuviadenu,
our ward mission leader. :)

Saturday we went and helped Brother Zancker paint! He'd built a little
structure over his firepit. He says he does stuff like that when he
gets bored. Before we started, I saw a little nose poking out of his
door and IT WAS A FERRET. HER NAME IS SLINKY. SHE JUST FLOPS AROUND
LIKE A RAGDOLL WHEN SOMEONE'S HOLDING HER. I LOVE HER.
Then we drove up to the very top of our area, on the island. Super far
away, so stunning. I loved seeing the beach. <3

First Sunday in the new ward! There was only one youth
speaker, and the rest was musical numbers. It was great. We sang with
the choir. All the Primary kids sang "Gethsemane" and I spent the
whole time watching a Sunbeam boy who knew all the words. So precious.
We taught Young Women's and did decently for not planning it at all,
haha. They had some good questions and discussion, and that always
helps.

THEN. K got baptized! So great! The Spirit was so strong. And
since next week is a stake meeting where they're realigning all the
ward boundaries, she was able to be confirmed and receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost right after! :D It was such a cool experience. I really
like their family.

Sister Sorensen likes to get a blessing at the beginning of every
transfer, which is a fantastic idea. So we all went to Bishop
Crookston's house for that. I recommend it. The Priesthood is awesome.

I love you all lots and hope you have a great week. <3

Love,

Sister Stevenson

P.S. We sang with the choir on Easter Sunday:

This is the Christ

I Know that my Redeemer Lives

Sisters Sorensen, Peterson, and Stevenson
New Companionship

ME AND SLINKY.

The beach!

The river!

The Baptism 

Because Squad. Right before transfers. 

Going to the Beach

Hello all!

So transfer calls happened this week. I'm heading to my new area tomorrow. 

I'll be in a trio, with Sister Peterson and
Sister Sorensen, my MTC companion! :)  Sister Petty also received a transfer. The side of the ward we've been serving in is closing down temporarily. :( Apparently there's a current
lack of missionaries, as those who are preparing to go on missions are
currently still in high school. Weird. But there will be missionaries
here again. For now, Sister Lamborn and Sister Jamison will be
covering the whole ward.

So I've been packing. I hate packing. Packing is the worst.

Anyway, this week.

Tuesday we went and visited some people we hadn't seen in a while.
Needed to clean out our area book. We also met some cool people in the
process, so that was great. :)

Wednesday we went late to GKTW, but made in in time for a Castle
shift! :) I've really been grateful for the opportunity to serve
there. It's such a special place.

We started studying Gospel Principles with Sister Jones. She wants to
get a patriarchal blessing, and that's what Bishop told her she had to
work on in order to get one.

Chapter 2 is really cool. It basically says that anyone who has been
called to minister was foreordained to that.

Thursday. We started to drive to District meeting. And got in an
accident. A teeny, tiny, hardly an accident accident. We're not really
supposed to talk about details until everything's settled. So. More on
that later I guess. Because it ended up being hilarious.

Anyway. We made it to the last 15 minutes of District meeting. :P Had
lunch with the North Sisters. Sister Lamborn had wanted to make curry
for ages, and finally got the stuff to make it. :)

Met with Jackie again, and read the testimony of Joseph Smith with
her. She's been googling things, which is unfortunate. But she's doing
it because she's genuinely curious, not because she wants to argue. So
that's good.

Had dinner with the Palominos and the North Sisters! Bishop talked
with us about how we can have a lasting, positive influence on the
ward. Their kids are so fun. Gonna miss them a ton.

Friday we went out visiting teaching with Sister Kober and saw Sister
Burgess. She really just needs and wants fellowship. She misses coming
to church but it's hard with her daughter's health issues. :( They
loved Prince of Peace! Everyone is loving Prince of Peace. :)

Did some planning at the library. That change of scene was nice. Felt
more productive.

Also made cookie brownies. Yum.

Saturday we taught Jackie the Plan of Salvation, and it was awesome.
As we taught, she was repeating back to us what she understood, and
told us that we'd taught her something new. :D Sister Petty was great
with using scriptures. We had to gently emphasize priesthood authority
and church attendance though.

We dropped in on Brian and Angie and family. :D They're so cute. Alex
is getting so good at praying. And Olivia's smiles are adooooorable.
We went to Twistee Treat and got way too much ice cream. :D

Got transfer calls and stressed out a bit. So the North Sisters came
down and helped us fold stuff and start packing. They're down here
helping us clean out our house today, too.

Sunday there was a resource fair for the homeless going on in Orlando,
so half the ward was gone, haha. Kerryann and her kids came! They
seemed to have fun in Primary, and she really loved the meetings! Also
a less active in our area brought his nonmember friend to church!
Hugged all the people goodbye.

We spent most of the rest of the day seeing those people that we love
most and saying goodbye to them. Also packing. Yuck.

So, Prince of Peace. Check out the daily videos! They're going until
Easter! And there's little challenges to go with each principle! Do
it!

Have an amazing week. Love you all.

Love,

Sister Stevenson

Me with Susan

CONFERENCE

Hello again!

Last Monday we went down to Lake Hatchineha with the North Sisters and
ate at the little restaurant down there, The Port. (Dad would love it
there.) We had a fantastic time looking out at the lake and listening
to the weird birds. Had some gator tail. And realized that $70 really
isn't a ton of money at a restaurant.

Tuesday we had District meeting and interviews with President. We saw
the new Easter initiative, Prince of Peace! Go check it out! Share it!
Watch the videos and do some of the suggestions, starting next Sunday!
The whole week we talked about General Conference with anyone and
everyone. We really wanted people to come, or at least watch. Some
less actives were excited about it. We asked them to prayerfully
prepare questions to have in mind while watching.

Wednesday we did Castle, yayyyy! Really now I just look forward to
organizing the mess of pillows. Sorting things, I've discovered, is
one of my favorite things. There were a ton of visiting families who
had stayed in years past.

The Champions took us out for dinner afterwards. They're so awesome
and we're so sad that they're leaving this month.

We finally saw our investigator Kiara! Have to take her off date for
baptism. At least until we can start meeting with her more regularly.
She wants to learn and do more, but it's hard with high school, etc.

Thursday we met with Susan! Patrick is back home! Brother Simpson came
with us again, and Susan decided that she did want a blessing. He gave
Patrick a blessing too. Susan is finally starting to progress and it's
so cool to see. She really wants to come to church but can't because
of her health issues. She even prayed at the end of the lesson!

Friday we saw Jessenia and her family! We're starting to be good
friends with them and it's awesome. :D We laughed a lot. The kids are
starting to love us too. Ezequiel just wants to play with us the whole
time, and is super sad when we don't have time. Sofia wants us to pick
her up, which breaks our hearts.

Saturday we went to Conference! :D :D There weren't a lot of people at
the church building. Mostly missionaries. There was a less active from
the neighboring ward who apparently hasn't gone to church in 15 years.
After the first session, I heard him talking a little bit. He said
that he'd never felt that way, that he had such an amazing experience.
He was at every session.

We got donuts for lunch. I demanded it and Sister Petty wanted some too. :)

Sunday we drove in front of our investigator Kerryann to guide her to
church. She tried to come last week and ended up giving up and going
to the Baptist church down the street. So this week she made it for
the first session of Conference, with her two kids! And she loved it!
We haven't been able to meet with her and teach her because of her
partner, but she really wants to learn and is going to keep coming to
church!

And wasn't Conference AMAZING? I still need to catch up and watch the
women's session. But I learned and felt so much awesome stuff! In the
words of Elder Bednar while I was in the MTC, "Conference should be
our walk and talk for the next six months." Read and study them again!
Review your notes! It's for us, right now, right at this time. And
that's awesome.

I love you all and I hope you have an amazing week.

Love,

Sister Stevenson

Sister Petty trying gator tail for the first time.

Us having dinner! :D

Party stuff. For Sister Lamborn's hump day!

Sister Petty and me at the lake.

She made me take a selfie.

GORGEOUS sunset.
We discussed the futility of taking sunset pictures
as I took this.

We got donuts!

Also, this is Pip! He comes around sometimes and loves attention.
When you hold your hand slightly above his head,
he jumps up to meet it. So cute.