March 3rd

Hey everyone!

Happy Birthday to Ben!!! I hope that the arthritis in your joints and memory loss will be slowed for your mission's sake. And I bet there is some remedy that you could find for that in Mexico, although make sure it isn't against the Word of Wisdom first cause that could be problematic!

This past week we have visited a lot of less active members. They seem to be progressing! We are hoping to organize a culture activity that will bring the ward members closer together!
Sister Tumurbaatar is teaching me Mongolian. I can now say wash your hands and my name is and ask what your name is. Lets just say that there is a reason why she is capable of learning English and why I stayed English speaking. I don't have the gift of tongues. But I still try...It may take years but I will learn a language!

Sister Tumurbaatar and I are getting so much better teaching the Restoration together! It is amazing! I love it! I am still getting lost almost everywhere I go, but the Lord is providing people to be placed in our path even when we get lost! We have been working really hard to get 10 street contacts a day and several times that we have gotten lost and have just gotten out of the car all of these people come out of their houses to do random things in their yard and we have been able to contact them! I like that much more than knocking on the door. 

We have come across a girl whose brother is in the "Book of Mormon" play and it was so funny because she seemed to really enjoy the experiance of us talking with her. It was funny. I could just imagine her talking to her brother about how she actually met LDS missionaries within a few days of seeing the play. She invited us back to talk with her though and even referred us to her dad. It was awesome! Saten can use things for evil but sometimes it opens doors for us! I will let you know how the lesson goes next week!

That's it for my adventures!

Sister Pendleton

Training Sister Tumurbaatar

Hey!

So this week was the first week of training and I don't really have to train at all. She already knows so much more than I did when I came out and she knows all the lessons and she knows how to be a missionary. Before she came on a mission she did a 3 month trial mission. Yeah no training needed. And she is so awesome! She is teaching me to read the Russian/Mongolian alphabet. Lets just say it is going to take me a while to learn it but I will! We have at least 5 more weeks together! There are some pictures of us together! She is hilarious!  This week has been awesome! We had two investigators at church as well as 2 less active members!!!! WE are really excited about the two less active members being at church because basically we have been trying to get them to come for ages. I know one is coming back next week the other one...well I really hope he comes next week as well!  The ward members are getting to know them and that is awesome!

Sister T (her name is really long so for time sake I will always refer to her as this!) is completely afraid of dogs! She hides behind me every time we knock doors and dogs bark! It is kinda funny I am always trying not to laugh as they open the door...turns out people like smiling people friendly but don't appreciate laughing people. Yeah...come to find out...

Yesterday we knocked a door and were able to teach the Plan of Salvation! Best thing in the world! I love having the spirit testify to others that what we say is true! We then talked with a guy who told us that he was beyond saving and his Mormon friends have been trying to convert him for years! I asked him why he hadn't and he just told me that he was beyond saving...I told him that was a lie, but we didn't get very far on him. But It always makes me so happy when we talk with people and they tell us about their Mormon friends who have opened the doors for us! Love it!

I ate grits this morning and a muffin. Not the California culture I think.

Any fun stories?

Love ya!

Sister Pendleton

Not Transferred

So this week is transfers and come to find out I am not getting transferred which isn't surprising but what is surprising is that I am training...lets just say slightly nervous. Maybe more...I don't know really how I feel at this moment I just try to not think about it. She is from Mongolia apparently and I will meet her tomorrow. So this past week Me and Sister Reinsch sang at the departure fireside. So story...we sang the week before in Sacrament Meeting...(did I tell you already?)...so I get up and I haven't felt nervous at all which was awesome because when I play the cello I am always super nervous before and just trying not to shake so I get up and I literally start shaking in my shoes!!! The whole time I am singing I couldn't even really sing loud because my mouth went super dry and it was just not so impressive after all. So I guess it wasn't awful but it wasn't so great either. In my head I am just talking to myself a little amazed at the fact that I am shaking in my shoes and never thought it was actually literally possible to shake in your shoes but yes it was in fact a possibility. So then we are suppose to sing that night at a singles activity which was I nervous before hand??? Yes because I didn't want to be shaking in my shoes again because that was ridiculous! When I get up to sing was I nervous? Did I start Shaking? nope not at all I was able to sing just fine. So Sister Reinsch wanted to try out for the fireside last night and I was like sure I mean really I can't promise I will be able to sing because apparently I can't decide if I am nervous or not. So we made it and sang in front of about 300+ people and was I nervous??? Yes...did I shake in my shoes...haha nope...was I able to sing...I think so. was it on tune? No one had the guts to tell me I was tone deaf...so I guess it was alright. I will find out for sure if I try out and am just completely rejected at that time. 

So our investigator has come to church 2 weeks in a row! He is awesome! He is progressing and is trying to give up smoking. Struggling but he slowly is giving it up. He has gone from 10 cigarettes to 4 a day  which is impressive. So we will see what happens this week. 

Have a great week! Love you all!

Sister Pendleton

WHY WAS THE HORSE HAPPY?

Hey Everyone!

So yesterday church got cancelled half way through because of plumbing issues again. We made it two hours so next week we should be able to make it through all three hours right??? We are starting to wonder if someone is purposely doing something to the toilets each week cause they worked fine during the week. Anyways we found a new investigator this past week and it was so cool! We taught him the restoration and never have I had such a powerful experience with someone when we taught that God is our loving Heavenly Father. Generally they are just like yeah yeah we know that. It was amazing!!!! We also had an investigator at church!!!! That was really cool. And we were able to have members come to a lesson and share their experiences with our investigators and relate to him more than we even thought was possible!!!! It was so cool!!!!! Seriously and one of our members talked about how powerful the Book of Mormon is how when the challenge came out to read it all the way through with the promise of blessings she did 3 times and she didn't get the blessings of a house like she wanted but she had a member of her family join the church each time she read the book. IT WAS LEGIT! I totally love this member and she has a daughter who is coming to church again and oh it is just so cool to see all the blessings and miracles happening in different peoples lives!!! We are seeing miracles all the time but I will say that we don't recognize a lot of them until a lot later. Which is too bad cause then missionary work would probably go a lot smoother all the time.

answer to the question

Because he was in a stable environment....

Well love you all!!!

Sister Pendleton

Interesting Happenings Superbowl Week

yesterday was the Superbowl which had the lowest church attendance of the year so far...and I will tell you why...because the church's bathrooms were all out of order. The main pipe lines were all backed up so no restroom was available and so we had to cancel church but we did hold sacrament meeting but those who had to go and use the bathroom would have to go home or somewhere else so basically most people left and it was a sad turnout but on the up side two non-members walked in to come to church. They were both from China it was a mom and her daughter and it was awesome because the mom had lived in New Zealand and she had attended the church there and had felt very peaceful so she decided to come to church and bring her daughter. It was really cool. Her daughter is also trying to learn English so that was really a neat experience. Her mom attended years ago too...they don't live in our area though so I may never know the end of that story...which is the saddest part about someone who doesn't live in your area. we are teaching someone who isn't in our area because he wants to learn more but won't give us his address which I don't really blame him so at some point if he progresses we will have to direct him else where. 

So this past week there was a zone conference and we invited all the ward members to come to it. In the Zone Conference we taught an investigator live. And when I say we, I mean Sister Folsom and I were asked to teach an investigator live in front of 100 missionaries and ward members...good thing God is in charge and not I because basically the thought of doing that is nerve wracking and for some reason I wasn't that nervous. It was amazing the spirit was super strong and everyone learned something (not from our teaching skills though cause they aren't that great let me tell you and don't kid yourself I am not being modest either and I mean really  they are lacking) but nevertheless God made up for it and the investigator she has been meeting with missionaries for 6 years she comes to church each week and she believes it is true. and that is what came out while we were teaching. It was cool. It was fun to get to teach with Sister Folsom again.

I hope you all are doing well. Following up with y'all Missionary plan??? Any good stories for me?

I love you all

Sister Pendleton

Super Week

Twinkies, Happy Birthday! 

Dianna, Tom, Happy Anniversary! (you might be getting old....)

So last week was good! We found a lot of people to teach and boy oh boy we are learning to be very prompt and aware of time...more so than usual at least. This week has been kind of rough spiritually though. I have really come to love the ward members the less active ones as well as the active ones and they talk to us about how hard their lives are and I just feel so sad for them (I almost put that I feel their pain but then I could only think about dad reciting Muppet's from Space with gonzo and rizzo saying I have a paper cut that's a doozy do you feel my pain too? haha) but seriously I see their struggles and I don't even know how to respond, and since we as missionaries don't council people or shouldn't we then teach them the gospel over and encourage them to read their scriptures and go to church and pray. They then kinda look puzzling at us. But it weighs on my spirit sometimes and then I remember Alma and Ammon and how great their sorrows were and yet how great the joy was to see people accept the gospel. So life really isn't that bad and I really love teaching people and I really do get joy when people are progressing towards God and eternal salvation. It is worth the difficult times all the more! And besides the gospel really is a happy thing because it is the only thing that people can find peace in when they have difficult times. If they turn away from it, usually their quality of life has not increased...and they feel empty. Speaking of which we met these guys whose veins were shattered!!! Yes only I noticed their veins because my comp doesn't understand the beauty of veins seeing as she is a music major vs a nurse. It was super sad though! Beautiful bulging veins that were so scarred that I just wanted to ask him where he currently shoots up at, but thought better of that question seeing as it wouldn't fulfill anything and I know that curiosity kills the cat and more than once. So happy thing! Our investigator is giving up all her addictions!!! She is doing great too! She went a whole day without smoking and drinking coffee! And yes we celebrate each new improvement!

This week has been a miraculous week and we are well on our way to another wonderful week! I hope everyone else is as well!

Love Sister Pendleton 

Sorry forgot pictures!

Hey Everyone,

So this past week has been an adventure. My companion has been called as a sister training leader and so she had a meeting on Tuesday which went from a what we thought would be an hour training to a 5 hour training which was slightly a little crazy so I got rushed to another companionship and basically went on an exchange in someone elses area. It was great! Got to know the two sisters better. Sister Doyle is one of the sisters that was in our group who is, for those who came to my last sacrement talk prior to leaving and remember, Brandon's little sister. They are alike that is for sure! I loved it though! Anyways...so then we went on two exchanges and I was able to go with two different sisters in my area. So on Wednesday I was with Sister Aliki who is the one in the picture. She is from Tonga and we were able to do service for the member that we live with by helping her decorate her house for Christmas! It was so awesome! This was her first time ever decorating a Christmas tree and she was so excited about it! I love her enthusiasm! We also rode bikes which was also her first time and I just about died of a heart attack!!! Seriously, she kinda would ride in the middle of the rode and it was giving me some mommy moments when I see her life flashing before my eyes as a car comes. But she did really well. Super powerful missionary. Very spiritually prepared.

Then there was Thanksgiving. It was a great day. We made Aunt Josee's yam sufflet which wasn't as good as her's but edible and took it to Margaret (the one in the wheelchair from last week) and then we had mexican food. It was delicious. It was rice and beans and a type of beef and I can't even tell you what it was called with tortillas. Yummy! We took a pumpkin pie to a members house who was less active and struggling to have dessert , but her husband who was higher than high came in and touched it and so we felt like the safest thing to do was not partake of our yummy pie. It was interesting! But the member was very thankful because it was the only Thanksgiving food that she had that day.

I love seeing all the Christmas lights out here. Everyone has decked out for Christmas already and I absolutely love it! We listen to Christmas music that sister Folsom got and I just love Christmas!!! (Slightly missing the snow but it is okay...I will have plenty more Christmas's with Snow)

2Nephi chapter 4 has been just a great chapter for me this week! Check it out!
Mom, Ken, you are awesome to help the Missionaires...sometimes they really are very lost and need members help. Thats for sure! We definately rely on the members a ton!

Love you all!

Sister Pendleton