nine months, what?

So basically SO much happens on a mission, that you can write about as much as you can/want......and you still only get a teaspoon of what happens. So I will do my best to tell y'all the happenings of this week:

We were blessed with a once in a lifetime snow storm called: The Nor'easter. Basically the winds from the east collide with the winds from the North and decide to just dump snow on us.
Our ZTM got canceled because of it. And we were stuck inside. ALL. DAY. LONG. Actually we decided to venture out in it because we were tired of being inside and so we went to try a potential.
Bad idea. We were FROZEN. And soaking wet when we came home! But still. I am SO excited that I got to be in NY for an epic snowfall!

The next day we had an appointment at 10. We leave the apartment at 9:50....and forgot that we'd have to not only scrape off our car, but dig it out, too.

.....half hour later we're on the road on the way to our appointment.

Then we get to the house.......and knee-deep snow was covering the pathway to their front door. So we did some "service" and shoveled our way to the front door.
Then there was ice underneath the door, so we couldn't open the screen door to knock on the front door. So THEN we start chipping at the ice with our shovel and managed to open the door enough to get our arm through, and we knock.

The woman's daughter opens the door. We managed to squeeze ourselves through into the house, our cheeks red between a mixture of cold and exhaustion from shoveling as we say, "Is your mom here?"

"Well, she's actually asleep."
Great!
So we talked with her and our recent convert while we warmed up.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Speaking of Valentine's day, Sister H and I spent some time this week taping hearts with scriptures about love to some ward members' homes. We did so to the Relief Society president, and as we were running back---BOOM Sister H is on the pavement busting up. She fell on black ice and managed to rip her leggings and give herself a nasty cut on her knee.

The next day we were out knocking doors. I turned the corner, and POOF. I slipped right into a giant snow pile and snow poofed around me. It was very graceful.

Later that same day, while Sister H was tending to her knee that was still bleeding/oozing disgust, the Relief Society president called us to thank us and said, "You girls are SO sweet and SO sneaky! You guys knew I was going to be at the Relief Society activity so I wasn't going to be home!"

......actually we had no idea you weren't going to be home.

We hung up and Sister H said, "So basically I ran and fell for no reason?"

"No, no. It made an epic story."

We had a lesson with our investigator. We sit down and ask, "WHY WEREN'T YOU AT CHURCH THIS SUNDAY?"

"Laziness!" he boldly declared.

".....THAT'S NO EXCUSE!"

"I know!"

We tried teaching the plan of salvation, but it really didn't go anywhere. He kept going on random tangents and said we don't talk about Christ enough. I was about ready to cry out of frustration. So then we gave him a plan of salvation pamplet and assigned him a few pages to read.

Sunday rolls around and who comes walking in the door? He does! I shake his hand and he sits down next to us and said, "I read that pamplet you girls left me!"

"YOU DID? WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT?"

"It was very nice! It was just what I needed!"

Yay! We will be discussing it with him tomorrow, so hopefully it'll go well.

Saturday we decided to go visit a less-active family that neither of us had met. We pull into their driveway and the husband--an older gentleman--comes out of his garage to see who it is. Sister H introduces us as the sister missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His response?

"Ah we have new sisters! Come on in!"

So we walk in and I'm thinking, "Man these less actives are super welcoming!"

I see pictures of their children and wonder if their children are active.
Then I turn around and see pictures of the temple. What?

Then we sit down and they start telling us about all the missions their children have served. And their grandchildren have served. And that they want to serve.

Yeah these people are totally active.
This is the second time this has happened to us. Sister H and I kind of sat there, unsure of what to do or say. Then we shared a spiritual thought with them and left.....and got stuck in the snow in their driveway.

The next day at church they came up and talked to us.
Curse you, big ward.

Saturday was also transfer calls day, and of COURSE we decided to spend that day in the middle of nowhere, where we had no service.
So the zone leaders call us. We had no service. Later we did, so we call them back. No answer. They call us back when we had no service. So then we call them back. No answer.
Finally we gave up and called our sister training leaders and they gave us the juice.

Sister H and I will be staying together another transfer! Which is really good. I still don't know this area or these people well enough. As for the Elders - Elder G will be going to Rome, NY (not Italy) and Elder R is our new district leader and will be training! So that's exciting.

Again. SO much happens on a mission that I wish I had more time to write about. But I am so grateful for this opportunity! I love and miss each of you! Time has flown and I really can't believe I'm at my halfway mark :/ Not sure how I feel about this.

Love you all!

Hurrah for Israel,

Sista' Stimpson.