Monday, July 28, 2014
A Fun Week & A New Challenge
Hey family!! Before I start writing, the room I'm in is SUPER loud and I can't hear myself think, SO if none of this email makes sense, that's why! Haha, missionary life is great!
Anyways, this week was great! We're still struggling with finding people to teach, but we're working hard, and I know that Heavenly Father is preparing someone for us to teach!
My testimony of nightly planning totally grew this week! Every night, before we go to bed, we plan who we're going to visit the next day, and basically plan everything we're going to do the next day.
One night, we were just looking at the names of people we could visit, and there were about 4-5 people that really stood out to us, we've tried most of the names before, and nobody answered, or people just weren't nice.. But we felt like we needed to see these people anyways! So we did.
Almost EVERY person we planned on seeing was home, and told us that they had been praying for someone to come and visit them. Needless to say God inspired us to visit these people. Blessings from following the spirit? I THINK YES!
We also met a lady this week that has terminal cancer, and ohmygoodness she was the SWEETEST lady ever! Even though she doesn't have a lot of time left on this earth, you would have NEVER guessed by the attitude she had about her life. We just listened to her as she spoke of her family, and how much shes been blessed. She told us how much she loves God, and how many things he's done for her. It really touched my heart to know that even though we still have those rough spots, we can still be thankful for the things we have! This lady was seriously the sweetest person ever.
We also had an activity this week where all the members in Apple Valley got together and celebrated the pioneer history! We had chicken and rabbit to eat! So that was tasty! We also did a little bit of square dancing! So that was tons of fun! It was just a great night to simply talk to people and have fun. Being a missionary is the best!
Also, family history is pretty cool. I was looking at it a little bit this week, and ohmygoodness. Super duper cool!!! If you haven't checked out your family history, I would highly encourage you do it!
We also went tracting (knocking doors) this week in 110 degree weather! That was actually a lot of fun! People looked at us like we were crazy, and I can finally say that I've tracted in 110 degree weather! Super fun! We didn't meet anyone that wanted to learn about the message we have about Jesus Christ, but we did meet some very nice people! So that was super great!
We also did service at an animal shelter!! So much fun!!! We just pulled weeds.. BUT we saw some pretty cute puppies!! Have I mentioned how much I love being a missionary? Because I really love it! I get to do cool things like that everyday! :D
So I honestly can't think of a funny moment of the week.. So next week I'll try to come up with two things.. Or you can take one of the two things I sent last week and apply it to this week ;) Either one right? Haha, but I'm sorry I can't think of anything! D: This is really awkward now..
ANYWAYS! Something I've been trying to work on this week was to not say anything negative about ANYONE including myself. Everyday we meet people that are rude to us, or we see people just being dumb. It's SO easy to just make a joke about someone, but it's also so mean to do that! It's also very easy to say negative things about yourself, we're ALL human. We ALL have flaws! We ALL make mistakes. It's so much rewarding when we truly realize that, and when we're just patient with that. Sure it's hard, but it's so much more rewarding when we just show Christlike love towards someone else.
There's actually a super cool video that I want y'all to look up, and write me about what you thought about it! Got it? Good! Here's the link. It's about bullying, and how much it hurts.
I dunno why, but I thought I'd share it with y'all! So tell me what you think!
https://www.lds.org/youth/video/bullying-stop-it?lang=eng
Anyways, I sure do love you family!! Even if you aren't my blood family, I sure love y'all and hope all y'all have a GREAT week!!!!!!!!
Love y'all!!!
Love, Sister Bond
Sunday, July 27, 2014
A Great Transfer
Hello family!! How are y'all?? Apple Valley is wonderful!! I was a little bit scared coming up here, but the people here are so wonderful and welcoming!
First off, the members that we live with are SO GREAT!! They're just the sweetest people you'll ever meet! They treat us like their grandchildren, so we're a little bit spoiled, but they're just such great people. I love them!
Sister Ellis is super cool! We get along super well, we're still working on teaching in unity, but it's getting much better!
Tuesday was pretty cool! We had district meeting which is when missionaries in the area come and pretty much strengthen one another where we receive multiple training's and so forth. ANYWAYS our entire training was Lord of the rings themed. It was about putting off the natural man, which in this case was the ring, and how we need to get rid of our personal ring. I don't know if that made much sense, but it was cool.
Later that night, we went to a members home that has been struggling, we ended up watching a pioneer movie and had popcorn and rootbeer. It was a pretty fun night, it made me super thankful to be able to have this gospel, there were so many struggles that the pioneers had to go through in order to have the church today!
Totally counting my blessings!
This week was honestly just me being introduced to a lot of members in the ward, but it was great. There are so many kind people out here.
The weather it hot, but the sunsets make up for it! The sky is just beautiful!!
As for the funny moment, I have a few!
So the family that we live with, they have their grandchildren living with them temporarily, so there are about 15-20 kids under the age of 11 running around everywhere! Great kids, I promise!
Anyways, they all decided to guess my name, since I go by "Sister Bond" most people don't know what my real name is.
So these kids have been guessing my name all week, everyday I would give them a letter, and they would guess.
Each of them at different points in the day either called me "Lifonda" Or "Latiffa" So apparently that's what I look like? I'm not really sure. What's even better is that we were visiting a family in the area, and they guessed the same name!! I thought it was pretty much hilarious.
As for the second funny moment, every Friday we have weekly planning, which like it's named, you plan for the entire next week, it normally takes about 3 hours, and at the end of it, you do a companion inventory, which you basically tell one another anything, kinda like a heart to heart kinda deal.
So Sister Ellis and I had an appointment that we needed to get to, and we didn't have a chance to do comp inventory, so after the appointment we decided to just park in some shade, which was in front of a strangers house, as we were sitting there, Sister Ellis told me that every time she's done that in the past, the people that lived in the home we park in front of, they come home and normally think we're creepers and come out and tell us to leave.
As we're sitting there, of course a car pulls up! So we being the clever people that we are pretend we're lost, and pull out our map and point in every which way direction.
The man that pulled up just gave us the weirdest look and walked away.
SO IT WORKED! If you're ever being a creeper, and sit outside someones home, just pretend you're lost. It shall work!
Hahaha... Anyways....
I am truly so thankful for so many things! I KNOW that Heavenly Father knows me personally, and he sends us to certain areas to learn, and to grow.
He will ALWAYS be there for us. We're never alone, we can distance ourselves from God, but he will never distance himself from us. He loves us too much to do that.
I'm so thankful to have a knowledge that no matter what, THINGS WILL WORK OUT. And why wouldn't they? It's all part of Gods plan.
I know he lives. I know he loves us. And I know that we can return to live with him again.
And for that, I'm thankful.
I sure do love y'all and hope you have a great week! If you get a chance, study preach my gospel. It's honestly one of my favorite books. It's a life saver!
Love y'all!!
Love, Sister Bond
First off, the members that we live with are SO GREAT!! They're just the sweetest people you'll ever meet! They treat us like their grandchildren, so we're a little bit spoiled, but they're just such great people. I love them!
Sister Ellis is super cool! We get along super well, we're still working on teaching in unity, but it's getting much better!
Tuesday was pretty cool! We had district meeting which is when missionaries in the area come and pretty much strengthen one another where we receive multiple training's and so forth. ANYWAYS our entire training was Lord of the rings themed. It was about putting off the natural man, which in this case was the ring, and how we need to get rid of our personal ring. I don't know if that made much sense, but it was cool.
Later that night, we went to a members home that has been struggling, we ended up watching a pioneer movie and had popcorn and rootbeer. It was a pretty fun night, it made me super thankful to be able to have this gospel, there were so many struggles that the pioneers had to go through in order to have the church today!
Totally counting my blessings!
This week was honestly just me being introduced to a lot of members in the ward, but it was great. There are so many kind people out here.
The weather it hot, but the sunsets make up for it! The sky is just beautiful!!
As for the funny moment, I have a few!
So the family that we live with, they have their grandchildren living with them temporarily, so there are about 15-20 kids under the age of 11 running around everywhere! Great kids, I promise!
Anyways, they all decided to guess my name, since I go by "Sister Bond" most people don't know what my real name is.
So these kids have been guessing my name all week, everyday I would give them a letter, and they would guess.
Each of them at different points in the day either called me "Lifonda" Or "Latiffa" So apparently that's what I look like? I'm not really sure. What's even better is that we were visiting a family in the area, and they guessed the same name!! I thought it was pretty much hilarious.
As for the second funny moment, every Friday we have weekly planning, which like it's named, you plan for the entire next week, it normally takes about 3 hours, and at the end of it, you do a companion inventory, which you basically tell one another anything, kinda like a heart to heart kinda deal.
So Sister Ellis and I had an appointment that we needed to get to, and we didn't have a chance to do comp inventory, so after the appointment we decided to just park in some shade, which was in front of a strangers house, as we were sitting there, Sister Ellis told me that every time she's done that in the past, the people that lived in the home we park in front of, they come home and normally think we're creepers and come out and tell us to leave.
As we're sitting there, of course a car pulls up! So we being the clever people that we are pretend we're lost, and pull out our map and point in every which way direction.
The man that pulled up just gave us the weirdest look and walked away.
SO IT WORKED! If you're ever being a creeper, and sit outside someones home, just pretend you're lost. It shall work!
Hahaha... Anyways....
I am truly so thankful for so many things! I KNOW that Heavenly Father knows me personally, and he sends us to certain areas to learn, and to grow.
He will ALWAYS be there for us. We're never alone, we can distance ourselves from God, but he will never distance himself from us. He loves us too much to do that.
I'm so thankful to have a knowledge that no matter what, THINGS WILL WORK OUT. And why wouldn't they? It's all part of Gods plan.
I know he lives. I know he loves us. And I know that we can return to live with him again.
And for that, I'm thankful.
I sure do love y'all and hope you have a great week! If you get a chance, study preach my gospel. It's honestly one of my favorite books. It's a life saver!
Love y'all!!
Love, Sister Bond
Apple Valley
Greetings from Apple Valley!! I am no longer in Ontario! Now I'm in the real desert, where when it's 99 degrees, it's a cool day! I've only been here for a few hours, but so far I like it! You need to look up joshua trees. They're these funny looking trees that look like something Dr. Seus would create! Needless to say, I have another favorite tree!
My new companion is Sister Ellis! She's from Utah, and is pretty cool so far! Right now it's still in the "awkward I don't know you phase" but she's a hardcore disney fan, so I like her!!!
This week was super crazy though!!
First, on Monday for a p-day activity, we played nerf zombies with the zone. Needless to say, it was a great day!! We totally won. Just FYI! ;)
This week we had some DELICIOUS food! First we had Cafe Rio, which is wonderful! I'm hooked on it!
We also went to a great BBQ restaurant! It was just some great smoked food! It was delicious!!
Then Saturday night, we roasted smores! SO MUCH FUN! I had so much sugar though, I thought I was going to go into a comma and pass out! But it was SO worth it!
We also did something different this week and had car sharing for a day. So basically Sister Cobabe and I walked the entire day, while the sister missionaries on bikes borrowed our car. So that was good! Walking was fun! We got to talk to a lot more people, so that was super great!
We saw Ron and Amanda, they're doing so great! Apparently their son gave them some anti-mormon stuff, so we were pretty worried about that.. BUT, we talked to them, and the stuff they were reading was 100% FALSE. People make up some crazy things about Mormons.. Haha, but they're doing great! I'm going to miss them now that I'm in Apple Valley!
I am SO incredibly thankful to be able to be on a mission, and especially to be able to be in Ontario for nearly 5 months! I've learned SO many things, and have met SO many amazing people! I totally had my stuggles, but I also learned some of my strengths! Heavenly Father has helped me get this far, and has taught me so many great things! I'm going to miss Ontario, but I know that I can learn and grow in Apple Valley!
I know that Heavenly Father knows us personally, and that he knows how to help us! And that I'm in Apple Valley because he sent me here. There are no coincidences that I'm here for a reason! I am truly SO very excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me!
I will miss Sister Cobabe though! She was such a great companion to have, I learned a ton of things from her!
So for a the funny moment of the week: So one of the wonderful members in Ontario bought us some fake cockroaches (they're hilarious looking!) to play with. A little weird, but so much fun! Anyways, Sister Cobabe and I decided to act out what would happen if we found one in one of our meetings.
So here we are, in our apartment, and put a fake cockroach on the ground, and act like it's a real bug.
Looking back at that, it doesn't sound super funny.. But ohmygoodness gracious, it was hilarious!! We were laughing so stinkin hard at it! So for future notice, if you want to laugh, pretend there is a cockroach on the ground!!
Oh! I forgot to tell you! We're living with members now, so now we don't have an apartment, so this shall be fun!! I'm actually really excited about it! I've heard that these members are the greatest people to live with in the mission, so hopefully that's true!!
I truly am so thankful to be able to serve a mission, and know that I'm exactly where Heavenly Father wants me to be! I sure do love y'all, and miss y'all, but I know that we can be so very blessed when we do what God asks us to do! Keep working hard, I know that sometimes things are weird or awkward. BUT things ALWAYS work out!!!!
I sure love y'all!!!!
Love, Sister Bond
My new companion is Sister Ellis! She's from Utah, and is pretty cool so far! Right now it's still in the "awkward I don't know you phase" but she's a hardcore disney fan, so I like her!!!
This week was super crazy though!!
First, on Monday for a p-day activity, we played nerf zombies with the zone. Needless to say, it was a great day!! We totally won. Just FYI! ;)
This week we had some DELICIOUS food! First we had Cafe Rio, which is wonderful! I'm hooked on it!
We also went to a great BBQ restaurant! It was just some great smoked food! It was delicious!!
Then Saturday night, we roasted smores! SO MUCH FUN! I had so much sugar though, I thought I was going to go into a comma and pass out! But it was SO worth it!
We also did something different this week and had car sharing for a day. So basically Sister Cobabe and I walked the entire day, while the sister missionaries on bikes borrowed our car. So that was good! Walking was fun! We got to talk to a lot more people, so that was super great!
We saw Ron and Amanda, they're doing so great! Apparently their son gave them some anti-mormon stuff, so we were pretty worried about that.. BUT, we talked to them, and the stuff they were reading was 100% FALSE. People make up some crazy things about Mormons.. Haha, but they're doing great! I'm going to miss them now that I'm in Apple Valley!
I am SO incredibly thankful to be able to be on a mission, and especially to be able to be in Ontario for nearly 5 months! I've learned SO many things, and have met SO many amazing people! I totally had my stuggles, but I also learned some of my strengths! Heavenly Father has helped me get this far, and has taught me so many great things! I'm going to miss Ontario, but I know that I can learn and grow in Apple Valley!
I know that Heavenly Father knows us personally, and that he knows how to help us! And that I'm in Apple Valley because he sent me here. There are no coincidences that I'm here for a reason! I am truly SO very excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me!
I will miss Sister Cobabe though! She was such a great companion to have, I learned a ton of things from her!
So for a the funny moment of the week: So one of the wonderful members in Ontario bought us some fake cockroaches (they're hilarious looking!) to play with. A little weird, but so much fun! Anyways, Sister Cobabe and I decided to act out what would happen if we found one in one of our meetings.
So here we are, in our apartment, and put a fake cockroach on the ground, and act like it's a real bug.
Looking back at that, it doesn't sound super funny.. But ohmygoodness gracious, it was hilarious!! We were laughing so stinkin hard at it! So for future notice, if you want to laugh, pretend there is a cockroach on the ground!!
Oh! I forgot to tell you! We're living with members now, so now we don't have an apartment, so this shall be fun!! I'm actually really excited about it! I've heard that these members are the greatest people to live with in the mission, so hopefully that's true!!
I truly am so thankful to be able to serve a mission, and know that I'm exactly where Heavenly Father wants me to be! I sure do love y'all, and miss y'all, but I know that we can be so very blessed when we do what God asks us to do! Keep working hard, I know that sometimes things are weird or awkward. BUT things ALWAYS work out!!!!
I sure love y'all!!!!
Love, Sister Bond
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Happy 4th!
Hello family! How are y'all?? Did you have a good 4th?
This week was pretty slow! Nobody was home this week, so we weren't able to meet with hardly anyone... And it was pretty hot, so we didn't get to walk a lot.. We kinda didn't want to have a heat stroke. That wouldn't be fun!
BUT. This week was great!!
For the 4th of July, all the missionaries in Ontario got to march in the Ontario parade! 28 missionaries! How cool is that? We got to hold the state flags and wave to everyone! SO MUCH FUN! Plus, we got to talk to a ton of people afterwords!
I got to carry my Georgia flag, so that was super awesome! We had to be inside our apartment by 6:00pm, so we had a pretty short day.. But I had BBQ!! With real BBQ sauce!! I had some steak, and mygoodness, it was delicious!
After we returned to our apartment we had weekly planning, which we basically plan the entire next week, which takes about 3 hours.. So that was fun!
Finally after the sun went down, the fireworks started. We had a tree blocking our view, but we were able to see a few! So that was a ton of fun!!
We didn't get to meet with any of our investigators this week, so that was a bummer.. But hopefully this coming week we can meet with them! There really isn't an update on them yet, but I'm sure this next week you'll have one!
Transfers are this weekend as well, so we'll also find out this week if I stay in Ontario, or if I leave to a different area of California! I honestly love this area though, there are so many great people that I just love! You get so close to the people out here that they become like family. I'm pretty nervous for transfers though, I've been here for a while, so I'll probably leave.. But no matter what happens, I'll be exactly where Heavenly Father wants me to be!
We also had interviews with our mission president this week! He's such a great guy! He just listens while we talk, and gives such great advice! There are a lot of missionaries out here, and he listens to every single one of them! What a blessing.
I'm truly thankful to be able to be a missionary! You just learn so many things EVERY DAY! It's impossible to not learn anything.
But something I've really learned is how aware Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are of me. They know each and every single one of us personally! Jesus Christ truly suffered the atonement for us, he died for us, and he knows everything that we've ever gone through! Sure life can be hard sometimes, there are always going to be ups and downs, but the atonement of Jesus Christ was SO much harder!! I'm so comforted to know that I don't have to be alone!! None of us are EVER alone! I KNOW without a doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ lives. That they LOVE us. We're here to learn, and to grow, and to prepare to meet God. And as we learn, and as we turn to him, they WILL be there!
We're all so blessed.
As for the funny moment of this week! We had interviews this week right? Well as I was walking across the room to meet with President, apparently I didn't walk very straight because he commented on how I can't walk in a straight line! For the rest of the week, I've been watching how I walk, and it's so true! I can't walk in a straight line!
I guess it's not super funny.. But it was to me! ;)
Anyways, I sure do love y'all!! Keep up the good work!
Love,
Sister Bond
This week was pretty slow! Nobody was home this week, so we weren't able to meet with hardly anyone... And it was pretty hot, so we didn't get to walk a lot.. We kinda didn't want to have a heat stroke. That wouldn't be fun!
BUT. This week was great!!
For the 4th of July, all the missionaries in Ontario got to march in the Ontario parade! 28 missionaries! How cool is that? We got to hold the state flags and wave to everyone! SO MUCH FUN! Plus, we got to talk to a ton of people afterwords!
I got to carry my Georgia flag, so that was super awesome! We had to be inside our apartment by 6:00pm, so we had a pretty short day.. But I had BBQ!! With real BBQ sauce!! I had some steak, and mygoodness, it was delicious!
After we returned to our apartment we had weekly planning, which we basically plan the entire next week, which takes about 3 hours.. So that was fun!
Finally after the sun went down, the fireworks started. We had a tree blocking our view, but we were able to see a few! So that was a ton of fun!!
We didn't get to meet with any of our investigators this week, so that was a bummer.. But hopefully this coming week we can meet with them! There really isn't an update on them yet, but I'm sure this next week you'll have one!
Transfers are this weekend as well, so we'll also find out this week if I stay in Ontario, or if I leave to a different area of California! I honestly love this area though, there are so many great people that I just love! You get so close to the people out here that they become like family. I'm pretty nervous for transfers though, I've been here for a while, so I'll probably leave.. But no matter what happens, I'll be exactly where Heavenly Father wants me to be!
We also had interviews with our mission president this week! He's such a great guy! He just listens while we talk, and gives such great advice! There are a lot of missionaries out here, and he listens to every single one of them! What a blessing.
I'm truly thankful to be able to be a missionary! You just learn so many things EVERY DAY! It's impossible to not learn anything.
But something I've really learned is how aware Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are of me. They know each and every single one of us personally! Jesus Christ truly suffered the atonement for us, he died for us, and he knows everything that we've ever gone through! Sure life can be hard sometimes, there are always going to be ups and downs, but the atonement of Jesus Christ was SO much harder!! I'm so comforted to know that I don't have to be alone!! None of us are EVER alone! I KNOW without a doubt in my mind that Jesus Christ lives. That they LOVE us. We're here to learn, and to grow, and to prepare to meet God. And as we learn, and as we turn to him, they WILL be there!
We're all so blessed.
As for the funny moment of this week! We had interviews this week right? Well as I was walking across the room to meet with President, apparently I didn't walk very straight because he commented on how I can't walk in a straight line! For the rest of the week, I've been watching how I walk, and it's so true! I can't walk in a straight line!
I guess it's not super funny.. But it was to me! ;)
Anyways, I sure do love y'all!! Keep up the good work!
Love,
Sister Bond
Sunday, July 6, 2014
You Know It's A Good Week When...
You know it's a good week when someone makes you some boiled peanuts! Haha, this week was pretty great! It was super slow, but we saw a lot of people!
So explanation on the boiled peanuts.
So when I first got here we were eating dinner at a members home, and I told them about boiled peanuts. They seemed super weirded out , and interested in them. Fast forward to Wednesday! This is the first time we've eaten at the members home since the first time I told them about the boiled peanuts! And guess what! She made some!! So we had boiled peanuts and ice cream for desert! It made my week!!
Anyways, the rest of the week was good! Ernie got the priesthood!! So that was super duper exciting!
We saw Ron and Amanda, our investigators, and they're doing great! They've been busy, so it's been hard to see them, but we're having dinner with them tomorrow! Apparently they like to cook fried chicken, so I'm pretty excited about that! I sure miss my southern food sometimes!
Lupe could use some prayers! It's a really long story with her, but she could really benefit from some prayers!
I'm also learning a lot on how to take care of a yard! We do so much service, I just love it!! I get burned pretty much everyday, but it's so worth it! We do a lot of planting, so it's pretty fun!
Are y'all doing anything fun for Independence day? I would love to hear what y'all are doing!
All the missionaries in Ontario are going to be in the city parade! So I'm pretty excited about that! We'll be carrying the flags of the states! So it's going to be pretty cool seeing all the missionaries walking the streets of Ontario! It's going to be great! I hope I can get some good pictures to send home!
We walked a lot more this week, so we talked to a lot of people! We met a few crazies.. But I just love it! It's so great being a missionary and being able to talk to so many people!
Funny moment of the week:
So we were at Ernie's house, and we were saying a closing prayer, and I asked if we could kneel, so as we're getting on our knees to pray, guess what happens! Ernie pulls a hamstring! So he's yelling very loudly because he's in a lot of pain, and we're just sitting there super awkwardly because he's yelling and swearing, so what do we do? We laugh of course! So we're laughing, so Ernie starts laughing, and says to just say a prayer as he's collapsed on the ground, so I start praying, and he starts yelling while I'm praying. So we stop, and he's still in a lot of pain and can't get off the ground.
So Sister Cobabe grabs a book for him, and tells him to read on the ground since he can't get up.
So he does and immediately stops yelling.
So we leave, and as we're walking to our car, we see his roommate and can't help but wonder what he'll think when he sees Ernie laying on the ground in pain.
Hahaha, it was pretty hilarious if I say so myself! Of course he was laughing the entire time, so we weren't TOOOOOOO insensitive! It was just one of those awkward moments where you can't help but laugh. It was great!
Now, something that I've learned this week!
Sometimes you just see how imperfect you are, you see all your weaknesses, and so many things you just want to improve on.
But the beauty of trials is that things get better! You CAN improve! We're here on earth to learn and grow! If we couldn't improve, then what would be the point of trials?? We're here to grow, and if we aren't tried every once in a while, we can't grow!
I'm THANKFUL for my trials because I'm able to grow. When we trust in God, he helps us. If we turn to him, he can make our weaknesses STRENGTHS. We can either take our trials and hide from them, or we can take them and grow from them.
I don't know about y'all, but I don't want to be the same exact person all my life and never progress, I want to grow, I want to become better.
Being out here on a mission has really taught me how to be a better person. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father sees my potential, and it's such a blessing to be able to be trusted enough to grow.
Not a lot else happened this week, but I'm so thankful to have the support of my family, and the support of my friends! I'm so blessed to have so many people that I care so much about!
Love y'all!! Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Bond
So explanation on the boiled peanuts.
So when I first got here we were eating dinner at a members home, and I told them about boiled peanuts. They seemed super weirded out , and interested in them. Fast forward to Wednesday! This is the first time we've eaten at the members home since the first time I told them about the boiled peanuts! And guess what! She made some!! So we had boiled peanuts and ice cream for desert! It made my week!!
Anyways, the rest of the week was good! Ernie got the priesthood!! So that was super duper exciting!
We saw Ron and Amanda, our investigators, and they're doing great! They've been busy, so it's been hard to see them, but we're having dinner with them tomorrow! Apparently they like to cook fried chicken, so I'm pretty excited about that! I sure miss my southern food sometimes!
Lupe could use some prayers! It's a really long story with her, but she could really benefit from some prayers!
I'm also learning a lot on how to take care of a yard! We do so much service, I just love it!! I get burned pretty much everyday, but it's so worth it! We do a lot of planting, so it's pretty fun!
Are y'all doing anything fun for Independence day? I would love to hear what y'all are doing!
All the missionaries in Ontario are going to be in the city parade! So I'm pretty excited about that! We'll be carrying the flags of the states! So it's going to be pretty cool seeing all the missionaries walking the streets of Ontario! It's going to be great! I hope I can get some good pictures to send home!
We walked a lot more this week, so we talked to a lot of people! We met a few crazies.. But I just love it! It's so great being a missionary and being able to talk to so many people!
Funny moment of the week:
So we were at Ernie's house, and we were saying a closing prayer, and I asked if we could kneel, so as we're getting on our knees to pray, guess what happens! Ernie pulls a hamstring! So he's yelling very loudly because he's in a lot of pain, and we're just sitting there super awkwardly because he's yelling and swearing, so what do we do? We laugh of course! So we're laughing, so Ernie starts laughing, and says to just say a prayer as he's collapsed on the ground, so I start praying, and he starts yelling while I'm praying. So we stop, and he's still in a lot of pain and can't get off the ground.
So Sister Cobabe grabs a book for him, and tells him to read on the ground since he can't get up.
So he does and immediately stops yelling.
So we leave, and as we're walking to our car, we see his roommate and can't help but wonder what he'll think when he sees Ernie laying on the ground in pain.
Hahaha, it was pretty hilarious if I say so myself! Of course he was laughing the entire time, so we weren't TOOOOOOO insensitive! It was just one of those awkward moments where you can't help but laugh. It was great!
Now, something that I've learned this week!
Sometimes you just see how imperfect you are, you see all your weaknesses, and so many things you just want to improve on.
But the beauty of trials is that things get better! You CAN improve! We're here on earth to learn and grow! If we couldn't improve, then what would be the point of trials?? We're here to grow, and if we aren't tried every once in a while, we can't grow!
I'm THANKFUL for my trials because I'm able to grow. When we trust in God, he helps us. If we turn to him, he can make our weaknesses STRENGTHS. We can either take our trials and hide from them, or we can take them and grow from them.
I don't know about y'all, but I don't want to be the same exact person all my life and never progress, I want to grow, I want to become better.
Being out here on a mission has really taught me how to be a better person. I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father sees my potential, and it's such a blessing to be able to be trusted enough to grow.
Not a lot else happened this week, but I'm so thankful to have the support of my family, and the support of my friends! I'm so blessed to have so many people that I care so much about!
Love y'all!! Have a great week!!!
Love,
Sister Bond
Miracles Happen Everyday
So, miracles happen everyday. Did y'all know that? Because they totally do!!
This week was super crazy, so I apologize in advance if it doesn't make sense!
Lupe is doing great! She's really confused about a LOT of things though.. So it's pretty interesting teaching her! Haha, I love her so much though! She's just super sweet, she still wants to be baptized, so getting her ready for that is pretty exciting! We have no idea when that'll happen, but please keep praying for her!
Ernie is doing so great!! I love seeing his progression from when we first met him! He met with Bishop yesterday, and should be getting the Priesthood soon!! How exciting is that?? It's seriously super humbling to be a missionary and seeing so many miracles!
I'm getting super tan out here! I'm red every other day from getting burned, but I'm getting tan!! Miracle? I think yes!!
Y'all want another miracle? So I made biscuits and gravy for all the missionaries in this area! It was supposed to be for only a few missionaries.. But everyone wanted some.. The miracle is that nobody got sick from them! And everyone liked them!! Haha, they were all asking about how to eat them.. It was pretty funny!
So we had exchanges this week! So we basically switch companions with another companionship for 24 hours. So I was in Chino hills for a day! Goodness gracious it was so pretty! There were a few more trees there than there are here in Ontario! So that was super exciting for me!
While on exchanges we had some major funny moments, and some extremely awkward ones! So hopefully this email makes y'all laugh because I've been laughing all week about it!
FUNNY MOMENT number one!
So we went to visit a less active sister, and we were talking with her and shared a scripture from the Bible with her and things were going great! Super awesome. What was funny was when we asked if we could leave her with a prayer, her answer was "Nope, it's too public, people will see us." Haha, I know it doesn't sound very funny, but we walked away laughing because of how weird it came out.
Funny moment number two! We went to see another less active, and we were talking to this man, totally normal right? We talked for about 10 minutes and finally asked if we could share a scripture with him. His answer? "No! I'm deaf and wont listen to you!" Hahaha, what's funny is that he was just listening to us for 10 minutes while we talked to him. It was pretty funny!
Now for the funny moment that totally takes the cake!!
We were still on exchanges, and we were taking a walk in the park to talk to people. Well this old man came up to me, and told me I had a nice backpack and it looked like it was full of books! We told him that I had one book in it, which was The Book of Mormon, and asked him if he had any questions about Mormon's, which lead to this conversation:
Old man: Well, I don't have any questions for you, I already know that you're being misled.
Us: Misled? How so?
OM: Oh, I don't mean to offend you! But can I just pray for you pretty girls?
Us: Laughing a little bit, you sure can pray for us! Can we pray for you as well?
OM: Oh, you pretty girls are so sweet!
Us: Well you have a nice night!
I stuck my hand out to give him a nice handshake when guess what happened.
HE GRABBED MY HAND AND HUGGED ME. What the awkward. While hugging me he told me how pretty I was. AWKWARD. Sister Soleta (the sister I was with) totally pulled him off of me.
We just walked away as soon as we got away. Haha, the really funny part about the story is that while we were walking away, a lady walks up to us and tells us that the same exact thing just happened to her! CREEPY. Hahaha, it was pretty funny though! We were dying about how uncomfortable and awkward it was! That was one for the journal!!
Anyways, I hope those awkward moments brought y'all some joy. Hahaha!
Now back to the miracles of this great week! Once I came home from exchanges (all of the above happened while on exchanges) sister Cobabe told me that we have TWO NEW INVESTIGATORS! Apparently she and the other sister were just walking by a garage sale when they stopped and talked to Ron and Amanda! Sister Cobabe and the other sister shared a message with them, and they invited us over for dinner! Plus, THEY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHURCH!!!! MIRACLE!!!
Another miracle you ask? So we were at church yesterday right? Well we saw a lady sitting by herself that we didn't recognize, so we went and talked to her.
Apparently she was driving looking for a house of God, and saw our church and decided she wanted to come and learn more! She ended up staying for 2 hours of church and kept telling us about how interesting everything is, and how much everything makes sense!
She doesn't live in our area for teaching, but it was a miracle to be apart of her coming to church! And the fact that she was looking for a church of God totally meant something to me.
MIRACLES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!
I'm so blessed to be able to recognize so many miracles everyday!! I love being a missionary SO much!! I know that God KNOWS US PERSONALLY! He answers our prayers! EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I sure love y'all and hope you see miracles all around you!!
Have a great week!!!!
Love,
Sister Bond
This week was super crazy, so I apologize in advance if it doesn't make sense!
Lupe is doing great! She's really confused about a LOT of things though.. So it's pretty interesting teaching her! Haha, I love her so much though! She's just super sweet, she still wants to be baptized, so getting her ready for that is pretty exciting! We have no idea when that'll happen, but please keep praying for her!
Ernie is doing so great!! I love seeing his progression from when we first met him! He met with Bishop yesterday, and should be getting the Priesthood soon!! How exciting is that?? It's seriously super humbling to be a missionary and seeing so many miracles!
I'm getting super tan out here! I'm red every other day from getting burned, but I'm getting tan!! Miracle? I think yes!!
Y'all want another miracle? So I made biscuits and gravy for all the missionaries in this area! It was supposed to be for only a few missionaries.. But everyone wanted some.. The miracle is that nobody got sick from them! And everyone liked them!! Haha, they were all asking about how to eat them.. It was pretty funny!
So we had exchanges this week! So we basically switch companions with another companionship for 24 hours. So I was in Chino hills for a day! Goodness gracious it was so pretty! There were a few more trees there than there are here in Ontario! So that was super exciting for me!
While on exchanges we had some major funny moments, and some extremely awkward ones! So hopefully this email makes y'all laugh because I've been laughing all week about it!
FUNNY MOMENT number one!
So we went to visit a less active sister, and we were talking with her and shared a scripture from the Bible with her and things were going great! Super awesome. What was funny was when we asked if we could leave her with a prayer, her answer was "Nope, it's too public, people will see us." Haha, I know it doesn't sound very funny, but we walked away laughing because of how weird it came out.
Funny moment number two! We went to see another less active, and we were talking to this man, totally normal right? We talked for about 10 minutes and finally asked if we could share a scripture with him. His answer? "No! I'm deaf and wont listen to you!" Hahaha, what's funny is that he was just listening to us for 10 minutes while we talked to him. It was pretty funny!
Now for the funny moment that totally takes the cake!!
We were still on exchanges, and we were taking a walk in the park to talk to people. Well this old man came up to me, and told me I had a nice backpack and it looked like it was full of books! We told him that I had one book in it, which was The Book of Mormon, and asked him if he had any questions about Mormon's, which lead to this conversation:
Old man: Well, I don't have any questions for you, I already know that you're being misled.
Us: Misled? How so?
OM: Oh, I don't mean to offend you! But can I just pray for you pretty girls?
Us: Laughing a little bit, you sure can pray for us! Can we pray for you as well?
OM: Oh, you pretty girls are so sweet!
Us: Well you have a nice night!
I stuck my hand out to give him a nice handshake when guess what happened.
HE GRABBED MY HAND AND HUGGED ME. What the awkward. While hugging me he told me how pretty I was. AWKWARD. Sister Soleta (the sister I was with) totally pulled him off of me.
We just walked away as soon as we got away. Haha, the really funny part about the story is that while we were walking away, a lady walks up to us and tells us that the same exact thing just happened to her! CREEPY. Hahaha, it was pretty funny though! We were dying about how uncomfortable and awkward it was! That was one for the journal!!
Anyways, I hope those awkward moments brought y'all some joy. Hahaha!
Now back to the miracles of this great week! Once I came home from exchanges (all of the above happened while on exchanges) sister Cobabe told me that we have TWO NEW INVESTIGATORS! Apparently she and the other sister were just walking by a garage sale when they stopped and talked to Ron and Amanda! Sister Cobabe and the other sister shared a message with them, and they invited us over for dinner! Plus, THEY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHURCH!!!! MIRACLE!!!
Another miracle you ask? So we were at church yesterday right? Well we saw a lady sitting by herself that we didn't recognize, so we went and talked to her.
Apparently she was driving looking for a house of God, and saw our church and decided she wanted to come and learn more! She ended up staying for 2 hours of church and kept telling us about how interesting everything is, and how much everything makes sense!
She doesn't live in our area for teaching, but it was a miracle to be apart of her coming to church! And the fact that she was looking for a church of God totally meant something to me.
MIRACLES ARE EVERYWHERE!!!
I'm so blessed to be able to recognize so many miracles everyday!! I love being a missionary SO much!! I know that God KNOWS US PERSONALLY! He answers our prayers! EVERY SINGLE ONE.
I sure love y'all and hope you see miracles all around you!!
Have a great week!!!!
Love,
Sister Bond
Guess who had a great week?
Guess who had a great week? THIS MISSIONARY DID! Heavenly Father answered our prayers, and now we have a new investigator!
So we've been praying for a new investigator right? Well Saturday we got a phone call to visit this one lady, so we did and she wasn't home. Sad right? Well, the next day, Sunday, we decided to fast and pray that we would have someone to teach.
Anyways, we went to visit someone after church who of course wasn't home, when we got the feeling to visit the referral we received on Saturday.. So we did! And guess what! We found Lupe! (loo-pay) Lupe was taught by missionaries a year ago and wanted to be baptized but ended up moving and loosing contact with missionaries and with the church. Somehow, I'm not sure how, she contacted someone who talked to us and sent her to her home.
After talking to Lupe, she told us she wants to be baptized! She doesn't want to set a date yet though because she wants to make sure shes going to church first before she commits to anything.
Miracle? I think YES! Our prayers have been answered! This is such a blessing! I'm so thankful!
We also have a mother and daughter that we should be able to start teaching! How great is that? Hopefully next week I'll have more to say about them, but please pray that all goes well with these people! We're so excited and thankful. I KNOW that Heavenly Father answers prayers. He knows our needs, and is preparing so many blessings! All we have to do is trust him, and do what he says!
I just love my life.
We've also been working on trying to visit some former investigators, so far none of them want to meet with us anymore, which is why they were dropped, but they're pretty kind to us! So that's another blessing!
Sister Cobabe hit her one year mark this week, so that was pretty exciting! We didn't really do anything fun for it though.. I think we just ate ice cream.. Which we do most of the time anyways! But She's a pretty cool missionary! I love her a lot!
We also did service this week! One day we worked on some yard work, and pulled out a ton of grass! The sister was scared that it would catch fire.. So we tore it all out. That was pretty fun!
We also did service with the G. family! AKA the snake family! They're redoing their floors, so we got to help with that some more! We tore out a bunch of stuff, I felt pretty manly with my hammer! Hahaha, it was great.
So funny moment of the week!
So I woke up in the middle of the night to hear Sister Cobabe sleep talking. Fist she yelled "I feel like I'm in a cocoon!" Then a little while later she yelled out "The trash cans! We're looking for green stuff!" And then she started singing there is sunshine in my soul. If you haven't listened to that song, go to lds.org and look it up. It's pretty hilarious.
Anyways, all on one night she was talking, yelling, and singing. It was hilarious to tell her about it the next morning!
Anyways, I'm super excited for this upcoming week! I sure love y'all and hope y'all have a great week!! What have y'all been studying lately? How's the weather back home? Any fun summer plans? I sure love letters and hearing from everyone! Keep working hard!
Love y'all!!
Sister Bond
So we've been praying for a new investigator right? Well Saturday we got a phone call to visit this one lady, so we did and she wasn't home. Sad right? Well, the next day, Sunday, we decided to fast and pray that we would have someone to teach.
Anyways, we went to visit someone after church who of course wasn't home, when we got the feeling to visit the referral we received on Saturday.. So we did! And guess what! We found Lupe! (loo-pay) Lupe was taught by missionaries a year ago and wanted to be baptized but ended up moving and loosing contact with missionaries and with the church. Somehow, I'm not sure how, she contacted someone who talked to us and sent her to her home.
After talking to Lupe, she told us she wants to be baptized! She doesn't want to set a date yet though because she wants to make sure shes going to church first before she commits to anything.
Miracle? I think YES! Our prayers have been answered! This is such a blessing! I'm so thankful!
We also have a mother and daughter that we should be able to start teaching! How great is that? Hopefully next week I'll have more to say about them, but please pray that all goes well with these people! We're so excited and thankful. I KNOW that Heavenly Father answers prayers. He knows our needs, and is preparing so many blessings! All we have to do is trust him, and do what he says!
I just love my life.
We've also been working on trying to visit some former investigators, so far none of them want to meet with us anymore, which is why they were dropped, but they're pretty kind to us! So that's another blessing!
Sister Cobabe hit her one year mark this week, so that was pretty exciting! We didn't really do anything fun for it though.. I think we just ate ice cream.. Which we do most of the time anyways! But She's a pretty cool missionary! I love her a lot!
We also did service this week! One day we worked on some yard work, and pulled out a ton of grass! The sister was scared that it would catch fire.. So we tore it all out. That was pretty fun!
We also did service with the G. family! AKA the snake family! They're redoing their floors, so we got to help with that some more! We tore out a bunch of stuff, I felt pretty manly with my hammer! Hahaha, it was great.
So funny moment of the week!
So I woke up in the middle of the night to hear Sister Cobabe sleep talking. Fist she yelled "I feel like I'm in a cocoon!" Then a little while later she yelled out "The trash cans! We're looking for green stuff!" And then she started singing there is sunshine in my soul. If you haven't listened to that song, go to lds.org and look it up. It's pretty hilarious.
Anyways, all on one night she was talking, yelling, and singing. It was hilarious to tell her about it the next morning!
Anyways, I'm super excited for this upcoming week! I sure love y'all and hope y'all have a great week!! What have y'all been studying lately? How's the weather back home? Any fun summer plans? I sure love letters and hearing from everyone! Keep working hard!
Love y'all!!
Sister Bond
A Slow Week
Hello! So this week was pretty boring.. Nothing super exciting happened! So this email may be super short.. Sorry!
But this week was good! We've been working a lot with the members in our area, and the more I get to know these people, the more I just love them! I love walking away from someones home and just feeling love for them!
We had Stake Conference this weekend! So all the congregations in the Ontario area come together to learn, and to be more united, and to learn more of Christ.
This Conference we had Elder Johnson of the 70 come, and another member of the 70, I can't remember his name.. But he was pretty cool!
They talked a lot on how when someone receives a calling in the church, it's from God. Not from man! And it made me think about me being on a mission. Missionaries are Called of God, we have a letter from a Prophet of God, and we have been set apart by the Priesthood to be representatives of Jesus Christ. How great is that? I'm SO thankful to be a missionary. It's a privilege and a blessing.
We did some more service this week! We helped the Grumbles move all their furniture! They'er redoing their floors, so we moved all their shelves and couches! It was so nice being able to lift things and feel my muscles! I miss having real workouts! But it was so great!
Like I said, this week was pretty slow.. We're really looking for someone to teach! So pray that we can find someone! I know that someone is being prepared to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I can't wait to find this person!
Funny moment of the week:
So Sister Cobabe and I were driving down the road this morning, and we saw two guys in white shirts on bikes, it must be the missionaries right? So we decided since we were driving on the same road as them that we would honk and wave to say hello! So we got closer, and Sister Cobabe was waving, only to realize that they weren't the missionaries we thought!!! They were two random guys on bikes. Haha, they looked confused when they saw two girls waving at them.. Woops.. Haha, it was great!
Anyways, I'm out of things to say! D: But I sure do love y'all! I'm so thankful for all the support each of you give me! I'm so blessed to be a missionary! I pray for y'all all the time!
Keep up the great work!
Love y'all! Have a great week!
But this week was good! We've been working a lot with the members in our area, and the more I get to know these people, the more I just love them! I love walking away from someones home and just feeling love for them!
We had Stake Conference this weekend! So all the congregations in the Ontario area come together to learn, and to be more united, and to learn more of Christ.
This Conference we had Elder Johnson of the 70 come, and another member of the 70, I can't remember his name.. But he was pretty cool!
They talked a lot on how when someone receives a calling in the church, it's from God. Not from man! And it made me think about me being on a mission. Missionaries are Called of God, we have a letter from a Prophet of God, and we have been set apart by the Priesthood to be representatives of Jesus Christ. How great is that? I'm SO thankful to be a missionary. It's a privilege and a blessing.
We did some more service this week! We helped the Grumbles move all their furniture! They'er redoing their floors, so we moved all their shelves and couches! It was so nice being able to lift things and feel my muscles! I miss having real workouts! But it was so great!
Like I said, this week was pretty slow.. We're really looking for someone to teach! So pray that we can find someone! I know that someone is being prepared to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, I can't wait to find this person!
Funny moment of the week:
So Sister Cobabe and I were driving down the road this morning, and we saw two guys in white shirts on bikes, it must be the missionaries right? So we decided since we were driving on the same road as them that we would honk and wave to say hello! So we got closer, and Sister Cobabe was waving, only to realize that they weren't the missionaries we thought!!! They were two random guys on bikes. Haha, they looked confused when they saw two girls waving at them.. Woops.. Haha, it was great!
Anyways, I'm out of things to say! D: But I sure do love y'all! I'm so thankful for all the support each of you give me! I'm so blessed to be a missionary! I pray for y'all all the time!
Keep up the great work!
Love y'all! Have a great week!
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