Grumpiness, Lots of Lessons, and the Heat

Hi guys! This week Priel’s been struggling a bit with being grumpy, both because of the stress of her upcoming return home (two weeks!) and because of the heat. It’s been really annoyingly hot in Idaho this past week, which I can attest to — “like 106 degrees” Priel says. She’s not looking forward to having to pack up either — she’s got lots more stuff now than she did when she first arrived, gifts and things.

Tuesday they had district meeting. Wednesday, they spent a lot of time with Dixie, doing service. Priel adores Dixie. They also did some work trying to contact people. Thursday Sister Francies was sick, so they stayed home most the day. In the evening they went on splits with the ward mission leader, who the Shamrock bishop had talked to about previous issues. Priel really likes that bishop. Friday they did yard work service for an old less-active couple, and the heat had Priel sweating like mad — she says she soaked through her shirt. The couple will be dealing with some major surgeries soon, so the ward will be helping them out. Saturday they met with the ward mission leader for their other ward, and Priel says he’s a real go-getter and easy to work with. Sunday they just had meeting after meeting and collapsed into bed after.

In lessons this week: on Monday they had an FHE lesson with a less active family, and their little five-year-old girl rattled off the whole story of Korihor. She’s like a sponge, Priel says. Priel wishes she had more time to get to know these people.

On Tuesday, they had a lesson with Jon about the Restoration, and afterwards he agreed to be baptized! It’ll be hard because he’s got some issues in his life that mean he’ll need First Presidency approval first, but Priel believes in him. Wednesday, they taught Sheri about the Plan of Salvation. They invited her neighbor, a member of the church, over, and he was way helpful at teaching and bringing the Spirit. He’s a former Hell’s Angel and has come really far, and Priel says Sheri is too. She’s getting all kinds of important questions answered for herself through the scriptures. Friday they had a lesson with the Prescotts also about the Plan, and ditto with Jon on Saturday. Things are going well there.

A Better Week

Four weeks left, guys!!!!

Priel had a better time this week — she’s adjusted to the area and the area has adjusted to having sisters instead of elders. Monday they had a dart war, which Priel was super happy about — she says she’s “a boss” at them now. Also, “at the end, I was the only sister who was playing with the Elders because the other sisters were too busy flirting with a new missionary who is from French Canada. Sheesh.”

Oh my dear dear.

They had district meeting on Tuesday. Priel says, “Elder Stark, who is now AP, was at the meeting. I was really happy to see him, since he’s become one of my best friends, but he’s changed after becoming AP. He’s so serious now, and his “Starkle Sparkle” is gone. It makes me so sad when missionaries lose their personality once they go into a big leadership position!” My other missionary friend, Dalton, is zone leader now so I’m kinda hoping that’s not true for him, haha. The few letters I manage to get from him (the Brazil/US postal service is SO SLOW) don’t seem to be lacking personality.

It was a good meeting, though, and they did some teaching and meeting work, before having some drama with Relief Society: “Then we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off that night because our relief societies were having activities at the same time, so we had to run to both, and then the people in one ward got mad at us because we left early to go to the other activity. Seriously. People need to start acting like adults and learn to share us.” I’ve had trouble sharing Priel in the past, so I can’t totally blame them, myself. 😉

Wednesday they did some service for Dixie, who is a “dry Mormon” — would be a member but struggles with giving up wine. She’s called “the missionary mom” in their area and everyone loves her, including Priel, who cried at her for a little bit about not wanting to go home yet. Then they did some more proselyting.

Stressed Spelled Backwards is Desserts

Short one, so I’m pasting Priel in.

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Hello everyone!

Holy crud, this week has been so stressful. I forgot how hard whitewashing is. But we’ve been able to stay busy, and as a result, we collapse once we come home at night. We’ve also been eating our feelings a lot, so I might gain another 10 pounds before I come home.

Sister Francies and I are getting along well so far. She is from St. Louis, so she’s got the eastern toughness going on. It’s a little scary sometimes. She has a really feisty personality and loves to call people to repentance. Yeah, we’re going to have to work on that this transfer. I don’t want our wards to hate Sister Missionaries.

We visited a ton of people this week, and, to my surprise, a lot of them were angry that we replaced the Elders. One 7 year old wouldn’t listen to our lesson because “we weren’t as beautiful as Elder Cortez.” Direct quote. Even the old ladies are obsessed with Elder Cortez! People also won’t let us do service for them because we can’t lift heavy things like the Elders. Psh. I lifted 40 pound boxes at my last job! I can do as much as the Elders can. It kind of wounds the ego, not going to lie, haha! I think it’s going to take a little bit for the wards to like us. But that’s ok. It might not happen while I’m here, but that doesn’t matter. I just want them to like Sisters at some point.

Well, that’s really all I have to say this week. My brain is fried from all the stress, so I’ll have more to say next week, when we’re actually settled and have some idea of what we’re doing.

Love you all! Have a great week 🙂

Love, Sister Bawden

Final Transfer, Lots of Feels

This week, Priel says, was probably the hardest of her mission. She’s only got six weeks left now, which alarms her, but I’M SO HaAaAaAaAaAaApPyYyYyY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They spent the week prepping for Sister T’s return home, saying goodbyes and stuff. Sister T waited til last minute to pack, though, haha. Friday, she left, which was really hard on Priel. She says, “Even though she sometimes drove me crazy I really grew to love her a lot and we got super close. I’ve honestly gotten closer to her than any other companion I’ve had. She and I were bawling and hugging in the mission office, and I didn’t want to send her off! We took one picture before we left and it’s probably the saddest picture I’ve ever seen. Our faces are red from crying.”

Priel was then paired up with Sister Leavitt for the weekend since both their companions had left, who is her “mission twin” because people say they look alike, but Priel doesn’t see it. They do fangirl together, though.

Saturday, the two of them helped an old lady move out, and Priel says she nearly died because of the heat and humidity in Idaho this past weekend. Which I too can attest to, being at BYU-Idaho right now. Then they got transfer calls, and Priel is being moved finally out of the area, which led to an emotional breakdown that evening. She really loves the ward she’s been in and the people there. She wrote, “I locked myself in the bathroom and cried for about an hour straight. I had a complete mental breakdown, and called Sister Lomu and Petersen and kept telling them that I couldn’t handle getting my heart broken anymore and that I wanted to go home. I’d lost my companion that I loved very much and then I was getting transferred from an area that I’ve loved from the instant that I got transferred there. They tried to calm me down with encouraging words, but I just got mad at them and hung up. The Elders ended up calling me, and Elder Szendre was really good at calming me down. He said exactly what I needed to hear. He’s also getting transferred to Meridian East, so I’m glad I’ll have a friend here. Sister Leavitt was a big help too. She cancelled all of the appointments she had in her area, and let me go to my area to start saying goodbye to everyone. She also bought me a shake from Dairy Queen, which also helped a lot.”

Milkshakes win the world.

More Food Poisoning AGAIN

Hi guys! Priel and her companion were pretty sick this week, so there were a lot of days they weren’t out on the street or teaching. Sister T was having migraines and Priel got food poisoning again. Wednesday they had a Sister’s Training Meeting and had dinner with a nice couple who said they’d like to visit Priel once she’s back home, which was sweet. Thursday she went to talk to the President to discuss some personal issues as well as her upcoming return home — registering to return to college, etc. It makes her nervous! They also went to find some referrals, but that was a waste in the end. Friday they had a zone meeting and did some service cleaning for a hoarder, after which they had dinner with a lady who gave her food poisoning by improperly cooking salmon in the microwave. Priel says they’re a lot more likely to get sick when they’re eating in areas where the poorer people live. 😦

So Saturday she was sick and throwing up, but the family they’re living with came home after an absence and were extremely helpful in getting her healthy again. Sunday she was back to church, and got to accompany a duet on the piano because there aren’t enough piano players in her area! That really surprised her, but she liked being able to help out.

In visiting, this week they saw Eva, whom Priel adores, Dee, and another lady who wants them to meet her husband. They also had a birthday party for a recent convert, so really not bad work for a week in which they were both sick. Especially since their area tends to be a bit slow-moving.

That’s it for this time! Thanks for keeping up with Priel’s adventures. I know she appreciates it. ❤

Feeling Much Better Now

I’m super happy and relieved to be able to say Priel’s doing better this week! A lot of her issues with Sister T seem to be related to an anxiety spike as well as the usual issues of human pride, but she’s working it out. Prayer has helped her. In a direct quote: “I was praying to Heavenly Father about how frustrated I was with myself and with Sister T, and that I didn’t want to deal with anything anymore. Then Matthew 7:3-5 came to mind, and I read it. Then I was inspired to reread Mosiah 3-4. The part where the people cried out loud asking God for forgiveness really hit me hard. I realized that I was being selfish and judgmental, and that I needed to ask for forgiveness for how I was treating Sister T. So I asked Heavenly Father to forgive me, and to help me to love her and see her in a more positive light. He answered my prayer and I now feel that I love Sister T. Because of that, we were able to have a much better week, and were able to teach in unity because I had cast aside all of those feelings of irritation and anger.”

It also helped that Sister T cleaned up the basement a bit, haha.

Monday, they went to the Capitol building downtown and also to Freak Alley, which she recommends you look up because it’s too hard to describe. Pictures are included at the end of this post. Tuesday and Wednesday, they tried to do service for a part-member family, but basically the family just wanted them to keep cleaning up after them, and Priel says that they’re “missionaries, not maids,” so obviously that’s not the most conducive use of their time. Also, it was gross. They also spent time visiting people, and had a meeting with one of the mission leaders.

Thursday they had a zone meeting discussing Easter and such. Priel says the video at this link made her cry, which is rare, and she recommends it a lot. #BecauseHeLives On Friday, they had exchanges, which weren’t so great this time around. The sister she was working with is very naggy and judgmental and makes it hard on her. So Priel decided to park the car and insist they walk the seven miles they needed to, and got a sunburn for her troubles. Another little reminder not to lose her temper and to be forgiving, she says. They did find an investigator, at least!

A Filling and a Transfer

Priel’s had a decently significant week. Monday, they did dart wars again, and Priel won a round! Tuesday was a slow proselyting day, kind of frustrating.

Wednesday, though, Priel had an emergency dentist appointment for a very painful tooth. She didn’t have any cavities (which, as she said, surprises her because of her constant Dr. Pepper consumption), but there was a filling that had been done very badly by her previous dentist and was hurting the nerve. So they had to redo that filling for her and she still might lose the tooth, depending. So she spent the rest of the day drooling and a little annoyed.

Thursday was full of meetings — zone, service, and the mission president — and it was a good day. Friday, in between lessons, Priel got to go get pizza twice, which was fun. Once was with the elders. Priel says, “The Elders were just like my brothers and we were all just best friends. I’ll miss them a lot, especially Elder Stark. Elder Stark and I were in the same district for about 10 months, so he and I have gotten really close. He’s going zone leader this transfer, and this will be the first transfer in a long time that we won’t be in the same district. Bah, it’s going to be hard!”

Saturday, Sheri Dew talked to all the Relief Society, whch Priel loved loved loved. Then they got transfer calls — and Priel has been transferred by to her old area. She’s kind of sad, but she’ll have lots of new stories to tell! Her new companion is from Samoa, the first one from out of the US, and her name is Sister Tauiliili. She says the missionaries in that zone have (rumoredly) gotten out of hand so she’s proud to be able to go back there and bring more obedience in, haha.

Then they had a baptism, for Zach, which was super happy. He managed even though his family doesn’t support it. But he’s scared of water, so he basically ran out of the font as soon as he got baptized, haha. Priel says he’s bound to go far.

Two Baptisms

Priel’s had a really good week this time around! They spent time proselyting again, but she’s starting to get the hang of it. She says, “This push for finding has really pushed me outside of my comfort zone, but I can definitely say that I’m starting to get better at talking to random people on the street. Talking to random people has always been a struggle with me as a missionary, just because it wasn’t really an effective thing to do in my previous areas. In my first area everyone was a member, in my second area everyone you met on the street was on drugs or drunk, but here everyone is normal and most likely not a member.”

Friday they did more service with the elders cleaning up a yard full of weeds and garbage. They started finding rotten clothes, though, so they stopped, Priel says, “because we were afraid that we would find a dead body or something.”

I’m not sure if she’s joking or not.

They also had a movie night where they showed “How Rare a Possession.” On Saturday, they helped at an Activity Days (girls age 8-12, if I recall right) event teaching the girls how to use social media properly to spread the Gospel.

In lessons this week, they taught a less active, Brother Garcia, and saw some potential there along with his nonmember wife. They’re interested, it seems, though struggling with Sunday-based work and stuff. They also taught the Nuno’s, who seemed less stressed, and Tia, who’s struggling with her divorce but sticking it out well, Priel says. Then they visited a few ward members, which was nice as usual.

The big news this week was across the weekend, where they got to participate in two baptisms! The first was Bea’s. Her husband baptized her, her little boy was super excited, and Priel cried from joy and from the Spirit. She says she knows that this will help Bea and her family in the future. Bea got confirmed as well on Sunday and cried from the beautiful blessing she received. The second baptism was in Priel’s old area — Annie finally got approval. She asked Priel to give a talk at the service, so Priel did, and she cried there as well. Basically, lots of crying, but in the good way.

She Lives!!!!

Okay, so, the LDS mail server recently got changed which means that Priel’s emails from last week never went through! We’ve all been panicking, like, “Did she get eaten by a moose? Did her new companion sacrifice her to a band of cats?” But today, which was this week’s (late) P-Day for her, her emails went through again so now we can rest assured that she’s alive and at least pretty well.

I’m going to copy last week’s email, which she re-sent to me, underneath and then I’ll tell you about this week’s email. Go.

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Last Week (Summarizing Jan 26 — Feb 1)

Hello everyone! 

So this week has had it’s ups and downs. Mostly ups though! I’ve been taking Sister Palmer around to meet all of the ward auxiliaries and ward members. Sister Palmer is so awesome! She’s an amazing missionary and has the best sense of humor. 

On Monday we played dart wars. As usual it was super fun! I’m so glad the Elders in our district would rather do that than play basketball (well with the exception of one elder, but no one cares about what he wants to do hahaha). We got Sister Palmer all moved in and then I introduced her to the Bishop and Relief Society President. 

On Tuesday we had district meeting and went to Garbanzo’s for lunch. Garbanzo’s is a pizza place that has all you can eat lunch and they give missionaries discounts, so the Elders love it, of course. Then we helped the Elders with a service project. We cleared huge weeds out of someone’s property. Afterwards I took Sister Palmer to meet some of our investigators and members of the ward. 

On Wednesday we helped out the Elders some more because we’d only cleared out about a tenth of the weeds and garbage. But we got a lot done. Afterwards I introduced her to some more members. That night we taught the Finelli’s the Plan of Salvation. Bro. Finelli is a recent convert of a few months, but we haven’t been able to set up a time to teach him the new member lessons because he’s been so busy. Fortunately he has an amazing home teacher and he set it all up for us!

Christmas is Coming

Priel had a lot to say this week!

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Hello everyone!

This week has been a really good week, despite all of the holiday slowness. A miracle was also experienced this week!

On Monday, we did our normal Pday whatnots, and then we played dart wars with the Elders in the district. And I didn’t get shot in the eye this time, which was good! I was smart this time and wore my sunglasses. After that, we had dinner with the Zone Leaders. We didn’t have a scheduled dinner appointment that night, so the ZL’s invited us to their dinner appointment, which was super nice of them. Afterwards we visited Sister Bailey. She is semi-active. She is the sweetest person ever though! She gave Sister Facer one of her old coats and gave us some of her old skirts. Yay for new clothes! We shared a scripture with her and then went home for the evening.

On Tuesday we had district meeting, which was really good. We’ve had some good Elders come into the district, so I’m super excited to get to know everyone. After district meeting we took plates of cookies to some of our investigators, then we had a lesson with our investigator, Yancey. He’s super cool. He struggles with smoking, so we’re trying to help him quit. After that, we went to dinner, and it ended up being the most epic dinner appointment I’ve ever had. The members took us to Chuck a Rama, and they have 3 kids, ages 7, 5, and 2. The evening started out normal, and then the 2 year old boy started choking on a french fry. After he finished choking, he proceeded to puke everywhere (we had finished eating before that happened, fortunately). His parents were surprisingly very calm as they cleaned him up and wiped up the puke off the floor. After they finished cleaning him up, the dad looked at the 7 year old daughter, and saw something in her coat. He pulled it out, and it was an empty pack of cigarettes. Her parents started questioning her, and she burst into tears and said that she had no idea how it got into her coat. All of that added up to one epic dinner appointment. After that awesome dinner, we went to a Relief Society activity. It was a lot of fun. Lots of cutesy Christmas decorations were everywhere, Christmas stories were shared, goodies were eaten, and we sang Christmas carols.