Weekly of letters

Hello, Hello!

So I made an awesome discovery this week. 

Ice cream is still delicious in -4 degree weather. Yup. 

I also can't believe I've been out 8 months. I feel like that's a huge accomplishment....but I also feel like I've just started. Basically at every month mark, I have two thoughts: 
Thought 1: "Okay. I made it another month. Just a few more to go." 
Thought 2: "OH MY GOSH. ANOTHER MONTH HAS GONE. I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!" 

It's great. 

 This week has been an obstacle of sorts. I have been frustrated lately because I feel like I'm not completely connecting with the ward, people, my companion or my investigators here. It's not like I'm totally disconnected from them, but I definitely am not meshing with them. It's been very frustrating because I'm not exactly sure how to overcome this. 

........but I guess that's why the Lord's here.......to help me over come this.

I know it'll come with time. But it's still frustrating in the moment.

We had a BAPTISM Saturday! Saturday morning we went early so we could fill the font. We finished, then left for about an hour to go help a family in the ward move. When we came back.....the font was significantly lower.....

We then went into slightly panic mode as Sister H hiked up her skirt and pushed the plug in more with her toe, and I turned the water back on. We left the water on until the actual baptism, so it was still at a good height! But yeah. So funny. 
The girl who got baptized has such an unstable life. It has been heart breaking to see, but I KNOW this gospel will help her. I just really hope she'll be able to find some peace and stability in her life. It'll be hard, especially since she's still young and needs to depend on others for a few more years, but I know if she keeps to the teachings of the gospel, she'll be able to have that peace and stability. 

This is possibly the lamest weekly letter of the century. I literally cannot think of what else happened this week. I was sick! I still kind of am. I've been basically a walking zombie these past couple days. 

"UUUUUUUURGH *Sniffle sniffle* wanna hear about the gospel?" 
It's bad. 

Sister H and I also have this problem -- she's very quiet and I'm shy around people I don't know.
Let's just say dinner appointments are VERY awkward. 

Thankfully everyone in this ward has a dozen little kids, so it's usually mad chaos at the dinner table anyway. 

 Well. Guess I should end with an apology for nothing too exciting happening. But I am SO grateful to be out serving this mission! I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. I am grateful for the Lord and I know that he has a hand in everyone's lives, and especially in this work. My knowledge and love for the gospel has grown a lot these past 8 (I KNOW RIGHT? 8!) months, and I am so, so, so blessed to be a part of it. 

I love and miss you all so much!

Sista' Stimpson. 

      

Transfer one, week one

The first week of the transfer ALWAYS goes by so slow. And this week was no exception. Like seriously. Last Monday feels like FOREVER agooooo.

But it has been a good week! Last Monday, we went and visited with a former investigator. She's 17, and when we knock on the door, we're like, "Hey! We're the missionaries----."

"Oh hey." And she shakes our hands and invites us into her house. We sit down and she's like, "Yeah my dad's family are all members, but I haven't been baptized yet. I actually am meeting with the Bishop tomorrow."

"........huh?" I ask.

"I need an ecclesiastical endorsement."

".......what?" I repeat.

"I'm applying to BYU. Though my dad really want's me to go to BYU-I."

"......OH!"

Basically most of her family are all members, but she hasn't joined. She told us how she can feel the spirit when she goes to her dad's house, and when she goes to church, but she just wants to make sure she's doing it for her, and not for her dad. But still! She said she wants to start meeting with missionaries again about once a week and is open to taking the discussions. She is SO cool and I adore her!

We also had zone conference this week! I totally saw Elder Taylor [from high school]. And we may or may not have accidentally called each other by our first names at one point. It was weird. Like I forgot my first name was Camilla and then he accidentally called me that. And then we were like, "Oops......well we just won't tell President."

At one point when I was talking to Elder Taylor, I hear, "Sister Stimpson!"

I turn around and who do I see? Elder C. And I was like, "Oh....Hey!"
And what did we do?
We had a legit, polite conversation about life. It was amazing. Later I was taking pictures with some people and after doing so, I heard him call my name again. I turn around he's leaving, and saluted to me. I was taken aback. Did Elder C just go out of his way to say hello AND goodbye to me? Strange. I didn't know how to respond, so I saluted back and said, "Live....long and....um....." then he left the room so I shouted, "PROSPER!"

Yes I know it was weird. But in my defense I was taken aback!

President also went on not one, but TWO random tangents during our zone conference about getting married.
"Do not delay getting married! And when the right person comes along, DON'T lose them! Okay? And before you're married, go on a vacation with your fiance. Go camping or something! That way you can really see what they're like. And remember that a temple marriage is the most important thing you can strive for!"
....did President just tell us to go on vacation with our fiance?
 And at the end of both tangents he said, "But you're missionaries! So you shouldn't be worrying about that anyway!"
Thanks, Pres.

OH MY GOODNESS I KEEP FORGETTING TO TELL YOU! We have a baptism this Saturday for our 13-year-old investigator. She is INCREDIBLE. She comes from an unstable home and wants peace and stability SO bad. I know the gospel can bring that to her life, but it's hard when things around her are so unstable. She was feeling incredibly sad at our last lesson with her. It broke my heart to see her so hurt. She felt so overwhelmed with everything. I was seriously about to cry right there for her, but instead I gave her a picture of Christ with our number on the back and told her to remember that He loves her so much and is always watching over her, and to call us if she needed anything.
Then Sister H and I went to the car and we both cried. It was so sad :'(

Basically all of Saratoga is composed of two kinds of families: A) Rich, well off, stable homes that live in huge mansions or B) unstable, broken homes filled with drugs. There's very little middle ground in this area.

Just kind of shows me how much Satan is attacking the family.

Not much else to report on this week. We volunteered at the soup kitchen where we had three old, mentally unstable guys hit on us. That was flattering.

This ward is awesome, although I literally have NO idea how I'm going to learn who everyone is! I was getting to the point in Owego where I could tell who was at church by what cars were in the parking lot. Then I come here and it's like, WOAH. What stake event is going on?

Oh, no. This ward is just big.

Welp. Looks like I'm short on time again. Remember I love you all! And that the church is true!

Hurrah For Israel,

Sista' Stimpson

Tears, throwing up, transfers, trees...and Jimmer

Greetings from Saratoga!

I am currently sitting in a public library with like......forty computers. Crazy, right? Owego's public library had two computers.

So yes, I'm in a city.

AND IT'S AWESOME.

But I still miss Owego.
But I still love it here.

ANYway. Let's talk of Tuesday.

I woke up Tuesday and thought, "This is it. This is my last day in Owego."

And it didn't really phase me. I was kind of excited. Get to see a new area, get a new companion, get to go to transfers.....

And then I said goodbye to Sister B and her kabillion dogs. And I was sad.

Then I said goodbye to another lady and she gave me two scarves to help keep me warm. She also was born in Saratoga so she told me all about it. So I was excited....but also a little sad.

Then I had to say goodbye to our YM investigator and his mom and their whole family and I was REALLY sad.

Then I had to say goodbye to our second baptism and her family and I was VERY sad.

Then I had to say goodbye to the Bishop and his wife and I was SUPER sad.

Then I had to say goodbye to the Cox's and I started to cry.

And I cried most of the night, too.

Owego most definitely took a little bit of my heart.

So transfers came, and I roll my luggage up to the Elders' car. Elder C packed a TON of stuff, including 13 bottles of carbonated water.
He kept scolding me for calling it carbonated water instead of by the brand name but, dude. It's totally carbonated water.
AND YOU DO NOT NEED 13 BOTTLES OF IT.

Whatever.

So they shoved all my stuff in the back seat, because his luggage took up the entire trunk. Sister S and I squished ourselves into the car, and we were off.

And Elder Z....drove like a crazy person. Seriously. We were going through winding, country roads and he was taking the turns SOOOO fast.....and then I started to feel dizzy. Then I started to feel nauseous and light-headed. Then I had to say, "Um....Elder Z, I'm just warning you, you MIGHT have to pull over. I'm feeling really, really car sick."
So the guy slows down. A little. And then.....I had to say, "Hey Elder Z?"

"Yeah?"

"Pull over as soon as possible, please."

Yes, my friends. He pulled over into some random house's driveway, and I had to run to their back yard behind their shed (yes that's the wonderful thing about New York. Nobody has a fence.) and I DIDN'T THROW UP!....but I was SUPER close. I sat there for a couple minutes, waiting not to be dizzy anymore, then splashed my face with snow and went back to the car.
I sat down and there was this awkward silence and I said, "Carry on."

Then we all fell asleep.

New embarrassing moment?
It's in the top ten.

Then we got to Utica for transfers, and there were a TON of missionaries. I was so excited to see everyone, that I was basically running around like a crazy woman. Sister S and I walked in, and I saw my new companion- Sister H. We look at each other and I'm like, "Oh, hey I'm your new companion!"

"Hey, it's nice to meet you!"

"Do you know where a coat rack is? OH MY GOSH IT'S SISTER R!!!!"
So I run and hug Sister R and she says, "We need a picture together!"

"Yeah we do!"

"Okay, here's my camera. One...two--."

"OH MY GOSH IT'S ELDER F!"

and I took off running like a crazy woman again. I pop in front of him and shake his hand and he goes, "WOAH I didn't recognize you with your curly hair!"

"I know right? Did you see Sister R--- OH MY GOSH SISTER C! HI I'M GOING TO YOUR AREA!"

"I KNOW! YOU'LL LOVE IT!"

So then Sister R catches up to me and says, "Elder J is here! He just got assigned his trainee."

"NO WAY ALL FOUR OF US ARE HERE? LET'S GO FIND HIM AND TAKE A PICTURE!"
Then I take off running again, and track down Elder J. And what's the first thing I say to him?

"Your former companion is a terrible driver and I almost threw up on the way here. AAAAH! SISTER J! SISTER B! I MISS YOU GUYS! Oh, hello, President Wirthlin. Yes it's nice to see you, too."

Keeping it classy, Sister Stimpson.
Keeping it classy.

It was a LOT of fun to see everyone. We spent the afternoon eating lunch, saying hellos and goodbyes, and taking pictures. Then we loaded up everything in the Saratoga sisters' cars, unloaded all of Elder C's carbonated water, and said our final goodbyes to everyone. I saluted Elder C. And I cornered the AP to ask if he (Elder C) was my district leader.
Turns out they just split the district and he is indeed NOT my district leader.

I also found out that my friend from high school is my zone leader! I'M SUPER PUMPED!

ANYWAY.

Saratoga is AWESOME! Poor Sister H had to put up with my culture shock the whole first three days though as I said, "Woah...you guys have a bus system? That's awesome! OH MY GOSH! YOU GUYS HAVE A STARBUCKS? AND A BANANA REPUBLIC? NO WAY! Hey! All the streets have four lanes on it! I haven't seen these in so long! WOAH! YOU GUYS HAVE A WAL MART! AND A MALL! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!"

Yes, people, I'm back in a city. Civilization, stores, PEOPLE, large buildings. I'm in heaven. Although I'm a little worried about learning the area and the ward. It was MUCH easier to learn these things in Owego, where everywhere was tiny and the ward was small so it was simpler to remember.
But I'll put off stressing about it and in the mean time enjoy the smell of car exhaust.

Sister H is AWESOME! We both like brownies, both like Psych, both like Cool Runnings, and are getting along really well. She's driving, which is a nice break for me, although I didn't have much driving stress this last transfer. We haven't gotten much snow, although Thursday it was INCREDIBLY foggy. So foggy, that we could hardly see in front of us. We were driving back from an appointment and could barely see in front of us. It hadn't been snowing, and the roads were clear, when suddenly this HUGE patch of snow was in the road.

SIster Heywood squints at it and says, "What on earth? Why is there a random patch of--." BOOM.

....the road turned and we didn't.....

We flew over a patch of snow and into someone's driveway where we were headed STRAIGHT for a tree and a parked car. Sister Heywoood swerved super quickly, and my some MIRACLE we managed to miss both.

Then we both sat there for half a second, and BURST out laughing.
Let's just say that there IS a God, and He loves his missionaries, and was most definitely protecting us from hitting that tree.
So funny.

I again experienced culture shock at church on Sunday. This ward is HUGE. There are little children EVERYWHERE. It is an AWESOME ward, though! They were coming up and introducing themselves to me, and really making me feel welcomed. Again, I have no idea how I'm going to learn everyone's names, because there's so many of them, but I am grateful to be serving here!

The elders here are SO cool, too! One of them -- Elder G -- went to Alta with me! He was a year younger than me and said he recognized me from band.

Dear goodness. I don't even want to know what I did to make you remember me in high school.

It was ward conference for Saratoga, so all the stake people were there. Afterwards, one of high councilors, who lived in Glenn Falls, came up and was talking to us and the Elders. Sister H mentioned Jimmer at one point, and that got the guy talking.....and talking.....and TALKING about Jimmer. Seriously.  I'm sitting there thinking, "Dear goodness, who IS this guy? And WHY is he talking about Jimmer so much? .....geez this guy ADORES Jimmer -- he won't stop TALKING about him!......wait hold up......did he just say Jimmer's wife is his daughter-in-law?.......okay wait.....is this guy related to Jimmer? Should I ask? No. No don't ask. I'll figure it out.....oh my gosh. This guy is Jimmer's DAD."

Then the stake president came up and said, "Brother Fredette, we're waiting to start our meeting."

Yup. Totally listened to Jimmer's dad talk about Jimmer for an hour. And I had no idea for about the first half hour who he was.
So great. That was the highlight of my day.

Anyway. I am so, so, so, so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve in Owego. I REALLY will miss it, but I am so excited for this opportunity to serve in Saratoga and see what's in store for me. AND IT'S IN A CITY!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Hurrah for Israel!

Sista' Stimpson.

God Be With You Til We Meet Again

Well this week was a big ball of stress. Between the cold, waiting for transfer calls, struggling with the Elders, and the usual stressors of missionary life, I was at wit's end. 

It all started Tuesday. 

We were with the Elders from 10:30 in the morning.....until CURFEW. It was a very long day. 

I was doing all right for the first little bit. We drove to WalMart together, and didn't talk to each other much. Then we had lunch as a district, then district meeting. After district meeting, Sister S and I had a family we wanted to try to visit (which we had told them), but we had to wait for Elder C to interview someone, and then inspect their car.

So Sister S and I killed time by climbing the bookcases of the library in the church. 

It was a good activity. 

I also talked to my zone leader, who went to Alta High. 

Me: Do you remember me from high school?
Him: Yeah! Spanish class. Good times. 

Me: .....I took French!

Him: Wait, you did? Well we had some class together. 

Me: I'm pretty sure it was wildlife biology.

Him: With Coach Stephens! That class ROCKED! But no, I took it as a junior when you were a sophomore. 

Me: ....We graduated the same year!

Him: What? When did you graduate?

Me: 2011. I think it's safe to say you don't remember me. 

Him: Yeah....sorry....

Me: It's okay. The most vivid memory I have of you is you making fun of me in 8th grade. 

Him: Wait what middle school did you go to?

Me: CRESCENT VIEW!

SO funny!

But anyway. 

On the drive home, I was at wit's end with the Elders. I was sad that we didn't have time to go visit the family we wanted to, and that I didn't get to do missionary work all day.
We spent New Year's Eve evening with them. We had dinner with some of their investigators, which was a lot of fun!

Then we spent the rest of the night at the Cox's! I love the Cox's.

Wednesday was a really good day. We had a good lesson with our YM investigator, although he STILL didn't come to church! We're hoping we won't have to push back his baptism date, but we're not sure :/ 

We had an AMAZING lesson with another lady. At the end of our lesson she said, "Now remember this: if you don't teach any other lessons to anyone else the rest of your mission, just remember that this lesson was meant for me to hear TODAY. And that God definitely had a hand in you teaching it." 

I was stunned. It was another reminder to me how the Spirit works through his missionaries. I felt like I was just doing my normal thing. I was just teaching. But something Sister S and I did really touched her, and I was SO grateful. 

We also had a really good lesson with the lady with lots of dogs, and her dogs even BEHAVED! Mostly because she put all but one in the back room, so it was quiet and we could discuss 3 Nephi 11, about Christ visiting the American continent. She also told us about how she was baptized on Christmas day and how it was POURING rain the day she got baptized, and how she got pneumonia afterwards.....but it was still cool! 

I was just so grateful for all the miracles I saw while teaching this week. So often we were in the right place at the right time, and without even being aware of it, Sister S and I said something that touched the person and helped them open up to us. It was awesome! 

Thursday evening I was able to go pick up Grandma's watch. Sister Cox called and offered to drive me to Vestal to pick it up, but I had to call Elder C to get permission. 

"I don't think he's very happy with me right now." I told her. 

"Don't worry," said Sister Cox, "I told him that I was taking you, and that this was your grandma's watch and that it was really, really special to you, and that if he didn't give you permission I would call President W myself and get permission for you." 

Needless to say when I called Elder C, he gave me permission. 

I love the Cox's :)

And now the news you're all waiting for: Transfer calls. 

Saturday was transfer calls day. We had been doing work all day, eagerly awaiting the calls. And I was DYING of anticipation. At one point I sat down and said, "I refuse to leave this apartment until transfer calls come."

Well needless to say it's a good thing we left cause they didn't call for like, another three hours. 

So the zone leader calls us and says, "Sister Stimpson! You've been in Owego a long time." 

"I know!" 

"You're being transfered to Saratoga Springs. Sister H is coming to Owego." 

Dang it. I'm super excited, but super, super sad at the same time. Owego has basically become a second home to me now. I am excited to see a new area but will really miss everyone here. 

On the bright side, Sister H is Sister R's current companion! So she's probably heard all about Owego!

"Where are the Elders going?" we asked. 

"Elder Z is staying here, and Elder C is going to be district leader in Greenwich." 

"................is that by Saratoga Springs?" 

"Yes." 

".............Is he going to be my district leader." 

"Let me check....yeah I think so." 

"............OH COME ON!" 

Looks like the Lord is giving me yet another chance to learn to love Elder C. 

Dear. Dear. Goodness. DEAR GOODNESS.  It'll be okay.......it'll be okay. 

Sunday was sad :( Said goodbye to all my peeps. It was hard. Really hard. I know Owego hasn't viewed me as family, but that's what I've viewed them as. One lady told me I've been here so long I've just kind of become a token of the ward. Another nineteen-year-old guy hugged me. I felt super awkward cause I forgot how to hug. And I'm not allowed to hug guys. Elder C was watching and was like, "I..........didn't see anything." 

Then the kid got embarassed and ran away. 

It was also testimony meeting. I was sitting there, thinking that I should PROBABLY bear my testimony, then I saw an older sister giving me the eye and I was like, "Ah geez." Then I saw the whole bishopric giving me the eye and I was like, "Ah GEEZ." 

Then I went up, and as I did so I heard someone say, "Ah, there's Sister Stimpson!" 

Then when I sat down, a lady who was sitting by us said, "I KNEW you were going to go up!" 

Then the Bishop came up to me afterwards and said, "You know we were all waiting for you to get up there." 

"Yeah I know. I saw Sister A giving me the eye." 

It was a good day. I really am going to miss Owego, but I am excited to see a new area. And I am grateful that I was able to be here for so long!!! I was definitely blessed.

Now for the real stressor: packing. I have hoarded WAY too much stuff these past seven months. 

Well. Looks like I'm out of time. Salutations until next week! Love you all!

Sista' Stimpson.