4/3/2011

Hey Family!

I hope you weren't too upset not to get an email on Monday. We had a super busy, super incredible weekend. So, today is p-day this week. Conference was amazing, I've never enjoyed conference as much as I did this time. The Spirit was so strong and they talked about so many things that could help our investigators. We are so blessed to have a prophet on the Earth today.  So, Monday we went to ZLC (Zone Leader Conference). It was a great ending to a great weekend. That meeting was so spiritual and so full of love. I know that many missionaries received revelation during that meeting, I know Sis. Sorensen and I did. I also was chastised/humbled by the Lord, through the Spirit. I've been frustrated with some situations and I came to realize that instead of being frustrated I need to be finding things that I can do to make the situation more helpful. After that meeting my attitude was sufficiently adjusted and I am happier than I ever remember being.

 

I really felt like conference had a lot of talks based on Charity. Something that I am always trying to improve on. I've been impressed to find that you can love people that you just meet. When we are at someone's door, or talking to someone on the street, I sometimes realize how much I love them and how much I wish they could have the gospel.

Moses is getting baptized on Saturday! I'm so excited!! It's been an incredible experience. He is still searching for a job, so maybe pray for him? His wife is also super sweet, and we hope that we can teach her too. She's coming to the baptism and church the next day.

 

We are teaching a new couple, they have 3 kids, I think. They came to Saturday morning session of conference and Jean A Stevens talk really hit Mike. We thought we saw him crying, and last night he told us that it really touched him. He's open and is going to start reading the Book of Mormon and praying to know if it is true.

 

We met James and Anthony a couple weeks ago. We were tracting and spent 45 minutes on their doorstep. They are high schoolers, and very into religion. They go to a Christian school. Sunday between sessions of conference they called us and told us that they had been talking about our conversation and wanted to meet up and talk more. So, we taught them yesterday. We talked a lot about the bible and authority, and we kept telling them not to take our word for it. We told them that the only way they could know if it is true is to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. After making reference to the Book of Mormon several times, Anthony said, so if it keeps coming back to the Book of Mormon, why don't we talk about the Book of Mormon? So, we did. James said he was going to read the Book of Mormon, because if it's true, than Mormonism is true. He gets it. So, he is beginning to study. Anthony's dad has met with missionaries before and had 2 Book of Mormons laying around. One is an 1830 edition! It's OLD. Inside one of them he has stapled a piece of paper with a list of places that he thought the BoM and bible contradict. I hope they read it prayerfully not looking for reasons that it's wrong. Because, just like Moroni said, you have to read and pray with real intent. They are cool boys.

 

Well, the Lord is blessing us here in Oakdale. We work hard and stay busy. We are going to get our bikes out soon and ride them. We just have to do in on a day where we aren't going from East St. Paul to Woodbury and back. I'm excited to get the bikes out. The weather is beautiful right now. It's supposed to get up in between 60 and 65 this week!! Beautiful! :D

 

Hmm, I think that covers our week. So, I know I keep promising a picture for the plaque...and I would have, but I lost my camera cord :S I'm looking for it. But, I haven't found it yet. I need it!! It charges my battery as well as connects to the computer. And, my camera doesn't run on AA batteries. So, if I can't find it, I will have to have to go to an electronic store and try to replace it. :( I'm sure it will turn up though.

 

Candy..I love peanut butter chocolate anything :) Just a reminder I need facewash. And, if you do go shopping, short sleeve shirts that don't need undershirts will be good. It's warming up and once it's hot, I'm not going to want tons of clothes on. I was looking at my clothes and I have 4 short sleeve shirts, but all of them need undershirts. I'm still good with what I have for now, but once it gets hot... I will need probably 7-9 shirts that will be comfortable in hot humid weather.

 

Question about the taxes. Are those last 3 pages just things for me to keep? One is a reprint of one of the sheets, and the others, I assume are for me to keep. I think I only have one book of checks. I'm trying to think of where my box of checks would be. It's either in my cedar chest, or in one of the boxes that I packed my stuff in. I wish I would of thought of that before. Oh, and who is Jen Armstrong? Should I know who that is? :S

 

I love you all! I'm glad things are going well. Is work going well? Haha, dad, in between sessions Saturday I did something, and then later said something, that made me realize that I am truly your daughter. I couldn't help but laugh. It's funny because when I picture your face, I picture you laughing, your true "that was funny" laugh. It always makes me smile. That picture came to mind during the Sacrament Song one Sunday...not funny. haha, but I couldn't help but giggle a bit. I love you! :D Good luck with sports, work, church, school etc.!

 

Sister Randall

week 9

Tell Josh and Deanne congrats from me! I about started crying when I read that! I hope she sticks to it and makes the right decision. She's such a great girl :)   So, I will take a picture this week...we just stay sooo busy. As for checks, I believe i have them. So, how much do I owe? How much is in my bank account? I hate not being able to know what's going on and able to take care of my taxes. It's stressful. I don't have my direct address. If you send it to the mission home it just takes one more day to get to me. Or, call my mission president and explain that you need to get tax information directly to me and he can give it to you.   I have a few requests as well. Can you find out Pama and Brea's addresses? And, I need some facewash pretty soon. Please? Thanks!   Miranda! Congrats on BYU-Idaho! That's exciting. You are lucky to not be there in the winter!!   So, Saturday night Sis. Sorensen and I went to Catholic Mass. It was interesting. Our District leader challenged us all to go to another church to try to understand how our investigators feel coming to our church. It was different.   Wow, I can't think of what happened this week. Bro. Moses Logan is getting baptized on the 9th. We've taught him everything and he has accepted it all. His wife comes home on Tuesday, so we can finally meet her.   We received a referral for a woman named Cynthia and her family. They just moved to our area and her mother joined the church within the last few years. She has seen how it has helped her mom and wants to learn more. Her boyfriend and her will hopefully be getting married, she said she wanted to. We will meet with them this week. We spent a little time speaking with her this past week, and she is excited about it. It would be so wonderful to watch her whole family join the church and be able to get sealed!   Oh, so the first week that I was here we were looking at the map of our area trying to find an area to tract in on Sunday. We both felt impressed to visit a particular street. However, that Sunday was a snow storm and we weren't able to go. Over the next several weeks we went back twice. Each time keeping track of who had and hadn't answered. So, this past week we went back to knock the last 5 doors. When we drove down the road I saw one of the houses and my heart just started beating fast and I felt the Spirit. We started down the road a bit, but when we got there my heart started pounding again. After I rang the doorbell I looked at Sis. S. and told her that. She told me that hers was pouding too and that the Spirit was strong. The man answered the door, we introduced ourselves, he told us he wasn't interested, we gave him a mormon.org card and left. I don't know what is going to happen, but I know that he is the reason we were on that street. In time, he will come to know the truth.   Last week the snow melted (except for the huge piles from the plows) and it was beautifully warm (in the 50's). Then, it snowed again. Ugh. I can't believe you are planting a garden, because here, the ground is still frozen. This week it will get into the 40's. I can't wait for spring!   Today was transfer calls, Sis. Sorensen and I are both staying. However, Sister Sorensen has been asked to do exchanges with all the sisters in the cities. So, I'll be out and about with other people in other places over the next transfer. That will be an interesting experience.   Thanks so much for your love and support. Did I tell you that Eugene and Charlotte sent me a package? It was super cute and I felt so loved! It made me smile. I sent them a thank you card. It was super sweet of them and was a fun surprise.  Hm, I feel like there is more to say, but I can't think of what it is. You asked who I write, I think. I email Randall, and sometimes Tonya. Rocio wrote me in the MTC but I didn't have her home address. Emily Beu and I have been writing. I need to find a way to get a couple more addresses. Two of my Arizona friends Reggie Nichols-in South Korea and Marcus Harding in Chile?? maybe. Then, in my hotmail account there should be saved somewhere Torvald's address in Norway. And if not, if you could send him an email and find out what it is? That would be awesome. I want to know how my missionary friends are! I have also gotten letters from other friends and past roommates :) Well, that covers basically what all is going on.   I love you all, I hope you are all enjoying your many activities and projects and what not. You all sound like you are good at staying busy. I love you!!   Sister Randall :D

week 8

What a crazy hectic week! I didn't hear from you, so I hope all is well. Dad, did you have a good birthday? What did you do? How's work?

 

The week here started out normal. Thursday was by far the most hectic, crazy, stressful day I've had yet. I didn't ever think about how Satan would work hard to discourage us the week of a baptism, let alone 2 baptisms. Crazy. So Thursday was just insane. Friday was Brother Andersons Baptism!!! We taught the Restoration while they were changing (and got 2 new potential investigators from that baptism!). I tried to quote the 1st vision and the words wouldn't come out. Sis. Sorensen saved me. I was so frustrated with myself and so stressed out that I started to cry after we were done. Just silently. I was soooo sick of not being able to speak. I've never really had that problem before. I know the gospel, I know these things, why won't they come out of my mouth!!!??? Then, a man in our ward came up after and gave us a "compliment" on being able to work so well as a companionship that with just a look at each other, the other one can pick up in the middle of the sentence. I didn't have nice feelings toward him that night. But, all is well, we all say things we shouldn't sometimes.

Just some info on Bro. Anderson: he is a Veteran, a recovered drug addict and alcoholic, has incredible faith (went from atheist to complete and total recoginition of a God). His wife and him are separated but now that he has turned his life around they are dating again. That's her in the pictures, the black woman. She is super sweet and she was impressed by the baptism and wants to know more (one of our potentials!). Our other potential is a guy named Jeremy who gives a woman in our ward rides to church and when she asked him for a ride to "Red" Anderson's baptism he was like...I knew a Red Anderson once... So he came, and it had been him! He told the woman he brought that his heart had been pricked and he wanted to know more! It was awesome

 

The next day was Katies baptism, it went really well. Her husband isn't big on organized religion, but is allowing her to join and take the kids. I think in time he will come around. He really enjoyed the baptism and was miraculously in a good mood for it! It was great. He's a good guy as well.

 

Sunday, was a pretty good day. We went to East St. Paul to contact a referral, but couldn't find him. So, we contacted on the streets. Guess what!!! I TAUGHT!! Sis. Sorensen hardly said a word! I DID IT! I had prayed so hard Friday night. I was feeling so discouraged. I wanted to be able to teach!!! And I did!!!! I still need to practice more, but I finally did it!!! :D So, it's been a great weekend.

 

Moses, well it's been a tough call. His baptism date was the 26th, but we still have a lot to teach him, and we don't want to rush it. We can't do it the next weekend because of general conference. They are supposed to be baptized and as close to the next Sacrament meeting as possible. So it will be April 9th. I don't think he is gonna like that. But, if he's serious and knows it is true, he'll do it. We haven't met his wife, and are a little confused with that situation. He first called her his girlfriend, then later told us they were legally married in Ramsey County. But, from our understanding she's not here legally? So can someone who is not legal, be legally married in the states? So we have to find more information out. It will all work out well though. He has committed and is living his committments. He wants to pay tithing, he is reading and praying and coming to church (without reminders), and is telling other people about it. What more can we ask for? He's great.

 

We find out about transfers next Monday. I guess there isn't a for sure on 2 transfers. My trainer and an Elder training in Cottage grove both have the transfer jitters. So, I guess we'll find out!

 

The pictures..could you save them in a folder on the computer for me? I need to buy a thumbdrive to save pictures on. Oh, and I forgot to take a picture of me...so will next week work? Or maybe at Sis. Cooper's I'll have her email you a picture of me? We are going over for lunch. She's super awesome. She's a breast cancer survivor. Anyway, I hope all is well. I love you and keep you in my prayers! :D

 

Love, Sister Randall 

 

(only 2 pictures are staying loaded...sooo I guess that's all I'm sending. So it's Bro. Anderson and Katie)

I still need to figure out how to get the pictures on here, sorry - Paula

week 7

Good news!! We have an extremely busy week (like usual). We have 2 baptisms this week. Brother Anderson received his letter of approval from the prophet last week and is getting baptized on Friday! Katie is incredible. she is getting baptized on Saturday. She's 23, has 2 kids and her husband is not interested. She has been smoke free for 11 days now and has spent a lot of time going to the lds bookstore and purchasing pictures and books to help her become a better "mormon mom". She has been reading LDS women and has been trying to improve. She really is incredible and has such an amazing understanding of the gospel. She's so excited. She told us Saturday night that she spent 3 hours reading the scriptures! She hadn't even meant to!

 

Moses is still awesome. He has had lots of people ask him questions about the church and he tells them that they can meet with the Sisters and ask them. Or "Come to church and learn the truth." Or "you can have my Book of Mormon, I'm sure the Sisters will give me another one." Haha, he asked us, "Is there anyway your church can tell the other churches the truth too!?" We gave him some pass along cards with our number so he can give them to his friends. He is having such a rough time. He has to come up with $1500 to help his cousin with his uncle's funeral. His cousin has to fly back to Liberia. Poor Moses needs a job, but he has such strong faith, it's inspiring to me.

 

I love living with the Sheffeild's. They are full of knowledge! We go up there when we have questions and they just love to sit down and explain to us. In fact today we went up with a question about the 12 tribes of Israel. We were up there for an hour while he explained it to us. They are incredible people. We learned so much and it made our purpose as missionaries more clear. We are gathering the "elect", for the elect hear the Lord's voice. And, as the Sheffeild's pointed out, the majority of the elect right now are from Ephraim and Mannaseh, whose responsibility is to gather. So, we are gathering the gatherers! It's crazy. The gatherers must first be gathered in order to gather in the rest! And then, when the other 10 tribes are gathered together they will bring family history, which is why we need temples, and as the Old Testament says, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Oh, it's an incredible circle and it all makes sense. At least, it does in my head, this email is short, and probably says very little about what I'm learning.

 

We have spent so much time teaching and with 3 baptisms in the next 2 weeks, we will have to go to finding. We will eventually spend a lot of time finding. Thankfully the weather is slowly warming up. It's supposed to be in the 50's this week!! However, it warms up a bit, then gets cold, then warms up again, and then gets cold. But, in time it will be hot and humid! I'm excited to get to ride my bike. My body needs more exercise, it feels gross. I wish I had more control over the food going in my stomach! If I come back with 30 more pounds on my body, I think I will cry! I refuse to get fat.

 

What else is going on...? Wow, there isn't much to say. I am still really struggling with contacting. My mind blanks at the door. I can introduce and ask questions, but I have a hard time going from their response of "I have a church", or "I'm a Christian" etc. and teaching them why they  need the gospel in their life. Especially Catholics. Because Catholics believe they have the Priesthood, they believe that they will be with their families forever. So, in their eyes, what do we have to offer? Speaking of Catholics, Miranda will you ask Taryn if she's gotten my letters? Also, last I heard, as of Thursday Elder Waite had not received any letters.

 

I got to see my MTC district on Thursday. People from SLC were here to talk about the pilot programs and how we can help it improve. They are solidifying it and it will go into full affect shortly. It was awesome seeing my elders and Sister Xidis. It was fun to hear of their experiences and see how much they had grown in just 3 weeks. It's really awesome being here in Minnesota. Despite freezing and all that, it's really quite incredible.

 

Oh, so I want more color. I feel soooo dull. So, we might go to a thrift store and see what we can find. But, also, if you happen to be shopping and see a cute shirt, or cardigan or anything with color, and it's on sale or cheap, I wouldn't mind receiving that! I'm fine with my skirts, what I really want are shirts. I'm gonna have to get some summer appropriate shirts here soon. I have quite a few sweaters, and I'm pretty sure that those aren't gonna fly in the summer.

 

Dad--best of luck with work. It reminds me of the hours you worked at ACI. You are such a good worker, they are lucky to have you :)

 

Miranda--a Daaate? How was that? Haha, my little sister is growing up!

 

Best of luck with all the sports and activities, it sounds like fun!

Oh, you should make mormon.org profiles!

 

Mom--good luck with the bathroom project. We were at a families house for lunch yesterday and I just loved the way she did her living room. it made me think of you and all your house projects! It's fun seeing families from an outside perspective. I'm learning so much, I wish I had words to express! It's funny because the more I understand the more I realize that I don't understand. There is a never ending process of learning. :D

 

I love you all. I hope all is well. Things here are hard, but awesome. :)  I get to witness a sealing next Saturday (26th) that will be really cool.

 

Oh, dad, I know it's not until Saturday, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! If I don't say it now, you'll get it late. What are you doing? How old are you gonna be? The more I'm around people, the more I realize how young my parents are! My comps dad is the age of my grandparents. haha, so, just remember you are both young :)

Week 6

My dear family :)

 

Wow, it's been an incredible week. It was our stake conference as well. A woman in the ward came up to me yesterday and asked me if this little girl looked familiar. I told her no. Apparently the kids were from the Mattoon ward and whoever they are..somehow they knew I was from there... I dunno. So yep. What kind of food do I like? Well, I'm always looking for snacks for during the day. Granola bars, fruit snacks, trail mix. I also love chocolate and if you mix that with peanut butter, I can't complain! If you find fleece lined tights, that would be awesome, but get them in like a medium. You wanna hear what I wear on a daily basis? I wear long underwear, (also sometimes thermals), 2 pairs of tights, a pair of regular socks, a pair of 40 below socks, a pair of shorts, my skirt, and on top I wear a long sleeve shirt, an undershirt, a regular shirt, a sweater, scarf, and coat. I'm staying warm, but all the layers on the bottom squeeze into my hips and it hurts. So maybe some bigger tights? I also want a fleece jacket that zips up the front. It doesn't need a hood.

 

Bowling was fun. I didn't do great, but when do I ever? Bowling just isn't my strong point. I got a letter from Jesse. He said that his mom had 2 strokes last week. She's ok, and his dad took a week off to be with her. Crazy how that can happen.

 

Food here...is interesting. We teach many different cultures, including African. Let's just say that when we ate at Sister Francis' house I had a "stomach ache" and couldn't eat all my food. :S Last night I was asleep by 20 till 10pm. I was not feeling well, and I'm still not feeling the best. But, I got 9 hours of sleep! I think it's dehydration. The water from the tap here is gross tasting. So, I'm going to buy a gallon of water today, maybe I'll drink more that way.

 

Ok, here's the story of the week. It's been incredible and has really helped me. Wednesday morning we received a referral from some missionaries in another part of MN. A guy named Moses has a cousin in that area. Moses had been talking to his cousin, and wanted his life to go better, so he'd asked his cousin why his life seemed to be so good. His cousin gave him the missionaries numbers and they set up an appointment, then gave us the referral. So, Wednesday night we went to teach him the Restoration. Brother Thomas and Brother Quinn came with as joint teachers. The lesson went great and the Spirit was SO strong. At the end of the lesson both brother Thomas and Quinn bore their testimonies. Before we prayed I felt prompted to tell Moses that as he continued to learn and act on these things that he would face challenges, but that God would help him and that we would be there. Moses committed to be baptized that night, and he even said the closing prayer. He wanted to meet everyday, but we set up another appointment for Friday. So, Friday we met at Brother Quinn's house. The 1st thing he told us cleared up our concern of the Law of Chastity. We had left the previous visit under the impression that he was living with his girlfriend. BUT! He's married! The 2nd thing he told us was that he had lost his job that morning. (Satan is so rude!) Moses then told us that it was ok. He said that since he had met with us he had felt joy and he knew that it was in God's hands. He is so strong and so faithful. He is one of the "elect" as described in the Doctrine and Covenants. He is prepared for this. His baptismal date is set for the 26th. He came to stake conference on Sunday and got to meet some members of the ward. We plan on meeting his wife and hope to teach her too. Also, on the 26th a recent convert family is getting sealed and we get to attend that that morning! That will be an incredible day! The 19th we also have a baptism. Katie has been taught by the Cottage Grove Elders, but she's actually in our ward boundries. She's been going there because she has friends and families. She recently quite smoking..going on 5 days now! So, we are hoping to introduce her to ward members this Sunday so that she will continue coming after her baptism.

 

One night last week we dropped my a less active's house. She has depression and apparently is bipolar. She wasn't feeling well and so we offered to bring some priesthood holders over to give her a blessing. So, another night we went by with Brother Sheffeild (we live in his basement) and a member of the bishopric. We talked about her life and problems and how church can bless her life. Brother Sheffeild was very kind and loving and encouraged her to come to church. They then gave her a blessing and while they were doing that I was under the impression that we were not alone. There were angels in that room. Several times I opened my eyes, just expecting to see them. Well, I never did, but they were there. She was concerned with being lonely, but I know that she is not alone. That was another incredible experience from this past week.

 

We've had a couple of "warm" days. Warm being 25-30's. The snow was starting to melt. But, we've had light snow this weekend and another storm is supposed to come tomorrow. Will the snow ever melt? I hear they are already concerned about flooding when the snow melts. There is so much of it.

 

People from Salt Lake are coming this week to talk to us about the new training program. So on Thursday I get to see all my elder's and sister from the MTC. We will pick apart the program and talk about what we like and how we feel like it's helping us. I'm excited to see them again. I get to see 2 of them every once in awhile. Elder Hudson I see weekly and Elder Waite (the one Miranda is supposed to write) is in my zone so I see him occasionaly. I saw him last week and he still had not received any letters. He's a good kid :) 

 

Friday Sis. Sorensen had to go to Bloomington for meetings so I went with the Spanish Sisters in West St. Paul. You ready for this? Hermana Hedengren dated the oldest HOTCHKISS boy. As in Wesley Hotchkiss's older brother. She never met Wesley though, because he was on his mission. She's good friends with their mom though. Also, there is an inactive member of the Spanish branch there who is from puerto rico who converted some 20 years ago. They were gonna ask her if they knew an "Elder Randall". What a small world it is.

 

Well, I suppose that's my week! Shae, congrats on the musical! I wish I could have seen it. Dad, how's work? Oh, and how are my taxes going along? One of the members of the bishopric here is a lawyer in the tax area. So now I just wonder what's going on with that.

Mom, you started a project? When did you find time for that!?

I hope all is going well! Things are great here! I love you all!

 

Sister Randall

Week 5

On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 12:52 PM, Adrianna Randall <adrianna.randall@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Alright, today we are in a hurry. The district is getting together at 1 (in 30 minutes) to go bowling, and it's a 20 minute drive. So, yeah. But, things are great. There is still TONS of snow. It's COOOOLD. I'm surviving though. A member gave me boots, they fit and are very warm. I also bought some 40 Below socks. They keep my feet warm. I am going to try to find a fleece jacket. Sister Sorensen doesn't think my coat will be warm enough for the winter. She has a down coat plus a fleece jacket and it's still cold. I don't know, I can hope for warmth! I'm glad that I didn't get here in the middle of winter. They still go out proselyting in -30 weather. :S brrrr. I'm gonna be an icle. But, many are chilled and few are frozen. So, I hope to stay in the majority!

 

We have 3 or 4 investigators. Getting them to church is SO hard. We also taught a first lesson to a couple who have 1 kid and another on the way. We think they are J.W.'s. Gratefully they haven't been rude. They've pulled out their scriptures, asked questions, listened and moved on. We are going back to teach the Plan of Salvation. How cool would that be to see a JW convert? haha. We are waiting on Bro. Anderson's letter of approval. He can't get baptized until the 1st Presidency approve. Man, it seems like tons has happened, it's just hard to describe. I'm slowly getting better at contacting. I'll get there. We have run into some anti's but nothing to extreme. Sister Sorensen told me stories about some of the people she has run into. She said she was only truly scared once...and that's when she tracted into a bible study of Born Again Christians. The teach anti-mormon doctrine. One woman she tracted into even fell to her knees praying for the devils to be cast out and then ran back, got a pamplet titled "What to say when Mormon Missionaries come to your door.." Crazy. I was a little nervous something like that was gonna happen on Sunday. I talked to this woman in her driveway and once I said who we were she wouldn't make eye contact and quickly told us to leave. Whatever.

 

Oh, favorite Scripture. Phillipians 4:13. I can't upload a picture onto the library computer. So yeah. Jesse's mom forwarded me his email and told me to forward it to dad. So I will do that. and she wants your email. Not sure why.

 

I've gotten tons of letters these past 2 weeks. It's kind of crazy. Just send letters to the mission home. They forward the letters the same day and we just get it one day later. It saves the hassle of changing addresses at transfers. And if you ever send a package, do NOT use Fed Ex they won't forward the packages. UPS will. Hmm, let's see....I am definitely here in Oakdale until May 11th. After that I don't know.

 

As for church meetings. We get up at 5 for 6 am meetings. We meet with Bishop, ward mission leader, and ourselves. Then we meet with just our ward mission leader. Then we go back in for PEC. Sundays are so long. I spoke on Sunday. I guess it went pretty well. Things are going great, and I'm slowly adapting to missionary life. As for our apartment, the members are never in there. It's like our own apartment. I am actually surprised because our apartment has been messy (which stresses me out, believe it or not). That's one of my pet peeves. Dirty dishes left everywhere, things thrown around the living room... (bedrooms are another story!) The bathtub is GROSS. I did a light cleaning of it today, but next pday...It's going DOWN! Haha. Wow, so yeah. Life is great. The mission is awesome.

 

We get to go to the temple once a quarter. It takes place of pday. have fun cleaning. They are cleaning the chandeliers here, I wanted to go help, but we aren't allowed :(

 

Miranda and shae both seem to be popular with the boys! Shae, I wish I had advice for you.. If I were to give either of them advice on boys, it would be this: Be honest and straightforward. Don't be afraid to let boys know what you are thinking or what you want. It makes it easier to have open communication. So just straight up tell them! ;)

 

Austin, the lightsaber picture: It's lead. Colored lead. The flash reflects off of it. It's from a colored mechanical pencil. So yeah. It's fun. Alright, I've got to go! I love you!! Things are awesome and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna start gaining weight. So much for training my body not to overeat. I'll have to retrain my body after my mission. Uggghhhh. I want nice weather so we can go running!!!

 

Oh, I haven't called Kim. You should ask her where she lives. I don't remember where Luke is, but it's definitely not here. There is no college here. Oh, here is a little about my ward. Our ward covers East St. Paul, Lake Elmo, Oakdale, Woodbury, Lakeland and Stillwater. East St Paul is a very poor area and Woodbury is full of very rich people. So we have both in the ward...our members from Woodbury feel very judged from the more rich. It's hard to see the way that members interact and treat each other. It's a whole new perspective from a missionary's point of view. The Sanderson's live in an Elder's area, but it's right next to a sister's area. That was sis. Sorensen's first area. I'll have to ask the elder's there about them. I'm glad you are all doing well. I love you all and will talk to you soon!!

 

Love,

Sister Randall

Week 4

On Mon, Feb 21, 2011 at 2:10 PM, Adrianna Randall <adrianna.randall@myldsmail.net> wrote:
Kim might be in our area. We cover East St. Paul, so I will give her a call this week and find out. Well, do you remember Chris and Ken White? They were in 3rd ward when grandpa was bishop. They live in my ward! They remember you. In fact at the baptism the other night she commented "I can see Darin in you. You are definitely a Randall." I hope that's a good thing!! ;) That was kind of fun. (The baptism was an 8 year old girl in the ward..not a convert baptism). We are waiting on a baptism though. We have to wait for clearance from President Monson. Crazy, right? He is such an awesome guy!

I never realized how much missionaries work with the ward...or the inactives. It's crazy! Oh, I suppose I should tell you: I'm in the Oakdale area. It covers Oakdale, Woodbury, East St. Paul and maybe a few other areas that I can't think of the names for. Right now I am looking out the window of a member's house and all I see is WHITE. It has been snowing since about 10am yesterday. We have gotten probably 20 inches or so. Plus all the snow already on the ground. We have a car. However, when the weather gets bad we have to park the car. We had to do that after church yesterday. This morning was clear again, so we got driving priviliges again. But now..I'm just waiting for the text from the Zone Leaders telling us to park it. Oh well, we will go with it. I still don't have boots. we went boot hunting, buuuutt there is almost nothing left. I found a really good boot for 1/2 the original price (great price) but they only had 7s and 8s. The boot is made for -40. We always go out, unless it's -40. Sooo yeah. It gets soooo cold. Oh, however we ran into a member on our way out of Target and she might have boots that will work for the remainder of the winter that she said I could have. We will go look at them tomorrow.

Our CO detector started going off last night..thankfully it was just a low battery. It put my trainer, Sister Sorenson and I on edge for a while. We finally got to sleep though. Sister Sorenson is from NORWAY. She is so awesome. She is happy and hard working and just sooo fun. She wears a small fake wedding ring because she has been proposed to a few times on her mission. She told me that I might consider doing that too. 

My first tracting experience: The first couple days here were surprisingly warm! The first day you hardly needed a coat, the 2nd was a bit colder. So, the 2nd day (my first day in my area) we went tracting. The snow had been melting, so we were trying to avoid this 1/2 inch deep puddle. (With big snow banks on either side). While we were working our way around it, a car came driving past on the road, hitting a puddle and splashed us. We were rather wet. I seriously thought that only happened in movies. It wasn't at foot level either. The sidewalks were higher than the road and the water went UP and then we got a shower. Haha, it was good. We have 2 potential investigators. One is a family who was going up to visit her brother for the weekend. Her brother is a member and they were going up for her neices BAPTISM. So, they had their first exposure to church. We will go back some time this week. It really is exciting. 

The members in the ward are awesome. They have really gotten excited about missionary work and are doing their best to help. The ward missionary leader has been here 3 months, and his humor reminds me of dad. He's fun. Wow, there isn't too much excitement right now. Lots of snow...we are in a new pilot training program. (I guess I'm just a testing dummy or something). Well, the term they use here is "Minnesota nice". Sometimes it's used rather sarcastically, especially in reference to the weather. :D

I'm quickly adjusting to missionary life. We went grocery shopping, finally! I've hated not having food. I had cereal, fiber 1 bars, bananas and a couple yogurts to get me by for the last several days. YAY for food. The members are great at feeding us though. 

I do have my bike. It looks like a great bike..however, we haven't used them. There is TOO much snow. Plus, the members are too conscientious of us to let us do that. Oh yeah, the St. Paul Temple is 1.3 miles away from our house. We live with  members. They built an apartment in their basement that their son and his wife lived in for awhile. It's practically like having our own apartment. We have our own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living area... We actually have 2 bedrooms, but mission rules are to share a room. The members actually really like having missionaries living there. They are sweet people. Man, I feel like there is so much to say!

Ok, picture....I don't have my camera with me. I don't have an updated picture. I emailed one to Pres. Anderson several months ago. Maybe he still has it? I might could send one next week. I'll send a scripture next week too. Once again, I don't have my scriptures. Anyway. I have got to write Pres. Howell. 

Thanks for the Valentine's package! I really enjoyed the candy! It was DELICIOUS! Anyway, I hope you all have a good week. Dad, I hope work is still going well. Mom...good luck with Relief Society. Miranda, Austin, Shae. Sorry I don't have time to respond individually. The letter sounds great, Miranda. He's a good guy. Austin, The picture with the lightsaber is not photo shopped, but it's not the best picture. There is a trick to doing it. It's pretty cool. Shae, good luck with the musical. Don't be scared of your teacher, just do your best. I wish I could watch! I love you all!

Love,

Sister Randall