April 9, 2012

Well, it's the end of the transfer already. Those first two weeks were SLOOOOW. But, now it's the end. Sister Meraz is being transferred to the Nepali area and I am getting that sister, who also came out with Sister Meraz. So, one more transfer of training for me. Then, maybe I can move to a new area? This will make 9 months here. I guess I'm being taught to be ok with consistency. I like change too much maybe? We shall see.

 

Thanks for the package! I have enjoyed the candy...it's like you know what my favorite candy is, or something? It's great! Also, thanks for the pictures. I was unable to view the videos, there isn't a program on the computer for me to see it! I'm glad they had fun searching for eggs, even though they felt too old for it. You need grandkids soon so that you can keep this going! :D

 

Sorry work has been hard. Hopefully it picks back up! That's rough. Congrats to Austin on his tennis matches! That's awesome! I'm proud of him! I hope Shae has fun in the musical. And best of luck to Miranda at BYU-I and with her dating life. Remember...no marriage before I get home (It's not unreasonable to ask that anymore...) And, mom is still busy with all sorts of activities! I swear you never sleep! ;) Thanks for the Mary Kay stuff mom!

 

Well, friends, it's been a crazy week. One day this week we stopped by the apartment to grab something and it smelt like gas! So, we made some phone calls. It ended up being the pilot light on our stove. But, Elder Randall had us go spend the night with the Spanish Sisters. That was fun, and I enjoyed it. Hermana Blood goes home this Wednesday, so I'm glad I got to spend a little time with her! She's fun.

 

President met with our Muslim investigator. We can continue to meet with her. She came to a baptism on Saturday and then had a concern with women not holding the Priesthood. We tried to explain it to her. She was supposed to come to church yesterday, but she didn't show up and hasn't responded to us. We will have to work with her a little more. Teaching different cultures is hard. You really have to understand their background!

 

Our Chinese investigator is doing great! WZ is so cute. We showed her the Restoration in Chinese and she loved it. She got a huge smile on her face during the 1st Vision and she gasped a little. It was cute. Our joint teacher (also chinese) went and hung out with her Friday night and it turns out she might be married...? that or engaged. But the boy is going to school somewhere else. Hopefully she's not married...

 

AB is doing great. We have met with her 3 times in 8 days and will be meeting with her tonight again. So 4 times in 11 days. She's great. We love her.

 

No stories about people running away from us this week. There was a U of M football player who passed away this week. They don't really know what happened. It was in the building right across from the Institute. They don't think it was foul play, something about his heart just stopping. One of our investigators played for the team, and one of the less actives the elders are teach did as well. It was so sad. It's sad when someone so young with so much potential pass on. He was going to be the first member of his family to graduate college. At least we know he is in a better place.

 

Well, things are great. I loved the tender mercy journal! I plan to use it every night (at least I'll try to....). I hope you are all doing well. I love you and miss you and look forward to mothers day! :D It's gonna be great! I hope you all have a great week!

 

I love you!!!

Love, Sister Randall

April 2, 2012

It's great to hear from you! It sounds like you enjoyed conference! I found it quite edifying as well! That's good that Miranda is headed back off to school next week. Dad would offer to mow her lawn so that he could use the mower! I laughed at that :) Shaelyn seems involved and busy, that's good. I am grateful for the events I was involved in in school. I think it helped me a lot. I don't remember Elder Hulme, but maybe someday I'll end up meeting him again. Austin is also involved, that makes me happy. Charleston seems to have been good to him? Keep me updated on his games! Yes, I still want to do a triathlon. Someday. :D We biked from the St Paul campus back to our apartment the other night. We had used the campus connector (bus) to transport us and our bikes to St Paul, but when we came to go back, each bus that came had bikes already on the rack. So, to make it home in time, we biked back. It was fun. It was misting, and it was a work out, but it was fun. :D

It's so weird to hear of missionaries coming home. I can't believe how fast 2 years goes by..let alone 18months. It's just insane! Anyway, thanks for sending me Mary Kay stuff. I appreciate it. As for anything else that I need, my night solution is running low (I can survive without it) and I could use some eyeliner--either black or dark brown.

So, what happened this week? We had 4 investigator lessons! That was really good! They are some of the sweetest people. We are starting to see our contacting efforts reflect in our teaching, which is super nice! AJ, One of our investigators wants to bring his "mentor" to the next lesson. His mentor is an on-campus minister. But, I guess he doesn't tell him what to believe, but sends him to the Bible to search for answers. So, that could be interesting.

P.M. has to meet with President before we continue to teach her. AB is so sweet, we have taught her once. She is so innocent and when we invited her to be baptized she got such a horrified look on her face. We assured her we weren't pushing her into anything and that we just want her to know where this will lead to when she finds it to be true. AK was interested in learning more. He is from Kenya. He said he would read and pray about the Book of Mormon and if it's true, he'll be baptized. I love Africans, so much!

We had a humorous event happen last night on campus. We had been out contacting and then needed to go back to the Institute to send some emails before we headed home. Well, to get to the institute we had to pass the Elders who were talking to a kid. In between us and them was a guy 1/2 running and looking back over his shoulder. When he got to us he stopped and urgently said "Watch out, there are two Mormons over there! I literally just ran away from them!" Sister Meraz and I were confused and just started laughing, thinking he was kidding. Well, when we realized he was serious we pointed to our name tags. He saw them, looked terrified and took of running! All we could do was laugh. I have never seen anyone so terrified of me before! Haha.

Well, we have a good week planned and will hopefully continue to add to our teaching pool. It's been a great week and we really enjoyed General Conference. It gives me so much to think about and work on! I just love conference! Maybe next time I can go to the conference center! That would be fun. Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. I am grateful for the Savior and His sacrifice. I know He lives and He loves each and everyone of us. He is our Redeemer. I know that He can help us through anything. His sacrifice is not just for that of repenting, but forgiving and finding strength to continue. The power of the Atonement is real. I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation and the reality of our ability to live with God again. I love you and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,
Sister Randall