Christmas letter #2

Merry Christmas!

I get to send a second email today-- huzzah (P-day plus Christmas)! Well, I love you all, friends and family, and just wanted to thank you all for your support.

Today we went to a devotional where Elder Russell M. Nelson spoke to us about missionary work and how to utilize our resources and be the best we could be. He also talked about how Christmas is about Christ's victory over death. Just think about the lyrics of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." He said the Lord is hastening His work and we are called to bring peace, hope, love, and joy to the people in a world of lying, deceit, and evil. We are "at risk-- serving in enemy-occupied territory," but if we act in complete obedience, the Lord will protect us. He also warned about rumors in the Church. Apparently there's been a rumor that people get called to serve in one country and are transferred to another not open to missionary work at this time. Those rumors are completely false, and we should always stop the rumors. We are an honest Church and deal with Nations "through the front door. Not the back door; not the alley." It really was a great talk, and I'm so grateful we had an apostle of the Lord speaking to us. His wife, Wendy Nelson, spoke about Spiritual "Gift Cards." I thought it was funny, because she mentioned how people don't spend gift cards and I chuckled to myself. But anyway, she talked about how Christ has paid for our Spiritual gifts already, and all we need to do is pray earnestly to "purchase" or receive those gifts. Are you shy? Pray for the gift of listening and discernment. Easily discouraged? Pray for the gift of persistence and endurance. Do you have a temper? Pray for mildness and understanding. And once you get a gift, ask for more! The Lord has an endless array of Spiritual gifts, and we should always seek more.

Thanks so much for the presents! I saved one for tonight, but I totally missed the whole "open on Christmas Eve package." But I love the pajamas! My roommates were jealous. Christmas today has been quite an experience. We have definitely felt the Spirit, and I look forward to more stuff later today. 

One thing that stuck out to me this week was when we talked about the purpose of prayer. The whole reason we pray is to align our will with God's. It isn't to ask for stuff we want, it isn't to complain, but it's to humble ourselves before God and ask that our will be like His. So in other words: we need to want what He wants for us. This is the whole idea of having a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Having a broken heart is knowing that without the Father, we can do nothing. Having a contrite spirit is being submissive and willing to do whatever the Lord wants. So when you pray with a contrite heart, no matter what His answer is, you're willing to do it. And when we end our prayers in Jesus' name, it means basically that Jesus would approve of what we are asking. So I challenge all of you to add more meaning to your prayers. We have the ability to talk directly with our Father in Heaven. Isn't that incredible! (Look up Alma 18:15-18, 22-23).

Yesterday we sang an excellent rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It's Missionary-style.
1. A copy of the Book of Mormon
2. Heavy bags
3. Meals a day
4. Referral calls
5. Golden contacts
6. Bowls of ice cream
7. Sessions planning
8. Teachers teaching
9. Sisters singing
10. Prayers for blessings
11. Elders preaching
12. Apostles speaking

Excellent, eh?

Like I mentioned in my earlier email, I have a fatanbulistic district. Every person in our district has such a strong testimony, and where one is weak, another is strong. Last week I had a hard time because I felt like I just wasn't good at anything. Elder Lee, Elder Scott, and Elder Tarry are super good at reciting scriptures. The others are good at symbolism and analogy. And everyone else seems to have a spiritual talent beside me. But at the end of the day last week, Elder Scott stopped everyone and gave a truly inspired quick testimony about how we all work together and what not. It made me realize that I do have a strength somewhere, and once I find what it is, I'm going to use it to my advantage. I have such a wonderful district, and I'm so glad that we all love each other and work together.

Love you guys!

-Sister Singleton

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Well hello and Merry Christmas, everyone!

This first week has been super interesting. I'm surprised how quickly I've adjusted to the schedule, and even though we're up and about for 16 hours, it still feels like there's not enough time to do anything. Thanks so much for the letters and packages; I haven't opened my presents yet, but I look forward to it today.

The very first day we, as a large group (70 people) taught three different investigators. The first group was really messy and we had no focus; throwing around really deep doctrine like proxies and baptism for the dead. The second investigator we got to know them and found a focus, but there was no Spirit in the conversation. The third one went really well; we definitely had the Spirit in teaching him. It's incredible how much we've all improved within just a few hours.

I have the best District ever! There are eight Elders and four Sisters, and we're either going to Chicago or Philadelphia. I thought that Frodo and Sam or Sherlock and Watson had the best bromances, but now I can definitely say that Elder companionships are by far the best bromances ever. Just to let you know. We spend almost all our time together as a District; we eat all meals together, we're in class together (8-10 hours), and we've all grown together. Every night we've had a chance to bear our testimonies to one another, and the room is always bursting with the Spirit. We had a devotional the other day and the speaker talked about repentance, so afterward we got together and started discussing about what we learned. It quickly turned into one of the most powerful experiences I've ever had, with us bearing our testimonies of why we were serving missions. It's amazing how each different person learned for themself that they were going to serve a mission and the circumstances surrounding their decision (and yes, I spent the better part of an hour crying). I know my District was divinely inspired, and I can honestly say I love each person deeply. I believe it was Elder Lee who said that it feels like we've been friends our whole lives, and I completely agree with him. And of course we've had some great times, like deciding which Disney character each person was. When we got to Elder Johnson, without a pause Sister Vande Merwe said, "Al from the Al's Toy Barn commercial in Toy Story 2!" It was so great.

We've taught a few "investigators" this past week. Our teachers are acting out investigators they found when on their missions. It's been tough learning how to study, plan, and yet rely completely on the Spirit to teach. Because if there's one thing the MTC teaches you, it's that I can't teach, but the Spirit can. The biggest thing we need to remember is that when we're teaching people, our goal is to have them come closer to Jesus Christ. It isn't to have them join the Church, it isn't to get them baptized, it's to have them gain a testimony of Christ and His Atonement and to desire to live with Him once more.

I'm so glad to be serving a mission. It feels like I've been here for a month; that's how long our days are. Oh, and by the way, I'm expected to leave the MTC on January 15. It was supposed to be three weeks, but because of Christmas, everyone's staying an extra week. What's incredible is that the week I came was the first official week that the new age changes came in. There is a 19-year-old sister (Sister Vande Merwe) and one 18-year-old Elder in our District (Elder Lee), but at a devotional we had them all stand up. And boy, was it incredible how many there were. President Monson was truly inspired, and the Lord is hastening His work upon the earth. I'm incredibly grateful the Lord has let me be a part of it.

I've learned so much I can't even tell you all. But I just wanted to let you know that the Church is true and I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that his faith and enduring to the end is why we are able to have the fulness of the gospel today. And family, no I don't miss you yet, but I love you very much (what?! I'm sorry, you know me-- it's only been a week).

Yesterday we had a Christmas Eve fireside with the story of Christ's birth acted and and full of music. Afterwards we watched "A Christmas Carol" and got huge bags of kettle corn. Today a General Authority is coming (I'M SO EXCITED!), and we're having a full schedule of special Christmas stuff.

I love you guys, and I know that the Lord loves all of you and will bless you if you're faithful and obedient. The greatest gift and sacrifice is to give the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Love,

Sister Sarah Singleton

Our awesome district on a Temple walk

Friday.

As my brother pointed out, this is my last weekend before I leave. And yet I am sick and have a talk to write... wo is me! Just kidding.

This week's been busy, if you can imagine, but also really excellent. My last day of work was last Thursday, so on Wednesday some of my coworkers and I went to Tucanos and had a great lunch. It's been a blessing and a blast to work with such awesome coworkers, and I will definitely miss them. Brandon even told me that when I leave, Utah will cry with lots of snow (which was his way of saying he'll miss me). Except I was so full from Tucanos that I'm pretty sure I didn't eat until the next morning.

I've been trying to get those last minute bits and pieces together. I still have not found a bag for my mission, but I decided I'll find a substitute until I get to Pennsylvania and hopefully find one there (because apparently all the stores in Utah hate me?). But this week was slightly anxiety-inducing, because people keep asking me one question:

"Are you ready?"

My first response is "Yeah, I've got all my clothes and stuff, just need to pack it all up..." However, my second response is more realistic, "I feel like I should know more." Those of you who have been on missions, I'm assuming every missionary feels this way. Like I should've studied harder, practiced more, and memorized scriptures. Earlier this week I was worried about how inadequate I felt, but while preparing for my talk I came across this:

In June of 1837 in the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith whispered to Heber C. Kimball that the Spirit of the Lord had spoken that Heber should “go to England and proclaim [the] Gospel, and open the door of salvation to that nation.” 

At the time, Heber C. Kimball was 36 years old. He had been a member of the Church for five years and an Apostle for two years. He had a wife and small children. He was the first missionary called to serve outside of North America. A financial panic had swept over the country and the Church in 1837. It was not an auspicious time for Joseph or Heber to commence such a project. But, as Joseph said, the Spirit of the Lord had directed the action.

Heber recorded his reaction: “O, Lord, I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land?”

Almost everyone who attempts missionary work feels inadequate in some way. The idea of such a mission was almost more than Heber could bear, but his faith and obedience prevailed. He stated: “However, all these considerations did not deter me from the path of duty; the moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed; … I felt that the cause of truth, the Gospel of Christ, outweighed every other consideration.” 

Think of the challenge of being a missionary and opening a new country without members, Church buildings, a mission home, or any funds! Despite these feelings of inadequacy, Elder Kimball worked hard and was humble. He and his companions were very successful. ("Be a Missionary All Your Life," Quentin L. Cook, Sept 2008 Ensign)

And boom! My worries were gone. If we work hard and keep an "eye single to his glory," (D&C 8:15) our inadequacies can be strengthened in Him. So even though I tell people to infuse knowledge into my brain when they ask what they can help me with, I know I'll be okay.

Disneyland

If you didn't gather from Twitter or Facebook, I went to Disneyland this weekend. It was totally a last-minute trip for me and Mary, but it was awesome.

Daniel and Liz showed up at 6:00 am and we headed out. Even though I only got three hours of sleep, I barely slept in the car. Maybe it's because I watched almost eight hours of Community before I realized how long we'd been driving. Liz made me switch movies/shows.

I brought cereal.

After getting ready for the afternoon (we felt super nasty from the drive), we walked around Downtown Disney and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. The wait was 2.5 hours to eat inside, so we opted for a balcony seat instead. It was still really cool, and we even got to see the "lightning storm" inside. Plus there were tons of cute stuffed animals.

A squeaker monkey in a banana!

Since we only had one day passes to one of the parks, we showed up to Disneyland just after 8:00 am. I was annoyingly persistent that we go on Space Mountain first, so we did. AND IT WAS AWESOME.

The rest of the day was pretty much awesome. We rode rides, ate churros, and I got made fun of for packing a lunch. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride broke when we were almost at the end, so we ended up sitting in the boat on an incline for about 20-15 minutes. There were little kids behind us that were crying for their mom. It was kind of sad and funny.

Since it's my blog, I'm just going to post a lot of pictures
of my face.

CAT.

When we showed up after a few hours for our Indiana Jones Fast Passes, the ride was broken. Luckily they were honoring Fast Passes for the rest of the day, so when we went back after a few hours, we got in pretty quickly. Which was excellent, because the wait time was 100 minutes and rising.

More pictures of my FACE.

Can you see Mickey's reflection?

There were a lot of people there. But it wasn't horrible, and the temperature was fabulous. It wasn't too hot or too cold, all I needed was a light jacket (hee har har). But seriously, the weather was super nice. Except I begged Liz and Daniel to go on Splash Mountain (since I'd never been on it before) and spent the rest of the day slightly uncomfortably moistened. The sun didn't come out for hours, so it was late afternoon before I started to dry.

I'm convinced you guys just want a thousand
pictures of me.

It looks like Liz has a moustache.

At night, Disneyland was even more beautiful and exciting. Everything was lit up or covered in icicles, ornaments, fake snow, or lights. All the rides were decorated inside and out, as well. After the firework show, fake snow machines whizzed away. It really was quite wonderful.

The best part of the night was the Fantasmic! show. It's presented kinda like Fantasia, as if the events were in Mickey's imagination. It went through the imagination of Mickey, first showing the princesses, heroes, and the lightheartedness of Disney. The music was awesome. Next Malificent came and showed what her imagination could do, so we saw the villains of the different films projected on the fog. They battled back and forth, and at one point a giant dragon was on the stage shooting fire towards Mickey.
There were also boats carrying the princesses while they danced with their prince. It was such a blast to watch. And in the end, all of the characters were on the Mark Twain ferry, waving ribbon wands and dancing. My favorite were the Toy Story characters at the back. I'd never heard of the show before, but it was definitely the coolest part of the whole trip.

My camera died at that point, but I strongly suggest you Google Fantasmic if you've never seen it. 

The holiday decor was awesome.

We left the park just after midnight (Mary and I went to Downtown again). The next day we packed up, went to the beach and left for home. You know how much it sucks going from the beach to the snow? Not cool. However, we did stop in Cedar City and visit with my Great Grandma, which was really nice to say goodbye to her before I leave on my mission.

High five!

Well, that was my weekend blitz trip to Disneyland. As my dad pointed out, I will be literally going coast to coast in one month. Pretty awesome, huh?

Le New Camera.

I was going to write a post, but my computer went all wonky and my brother was just fixing it for the better part of an hour. So I'll just say this: I got my new camera today.


When I got my mission call, I was informed that I am not allowed to bring my big camera on my mission (to prevent it getting stolen and from looking like a tourist). So a really intense internal battle followed that probably not too many missionaries face: to buy another camera or not?

I already have a small point-and-shoot, but it's mostly used for its waterproof qualities. And honestly, I'm not going on a mission to take pictures. But I couldn't just completely give up the want to take professional photos (because a point-and-shoot camera isn't up to par.). I couldn't shove my talent under the bed for 18 months, and I didn't want to feel regretful on my mission (it's hard to shake the thought of a lost photographic opportunity). So there I was, wrangling with the idea back and forth until I finally made a decision to buy one. And boy, I like it.

You might not think this decision is even notable, but it took an inhuman amount of time to decide. IT'S A BIG DEAL, OKAY??!

Family Day

Interesting things always happen on Thanksgiving.

I've previously mentioned spending the bulk of Thanksgiving in the ER, but when I woke up this morning I remembered something that happened a few years back.

I don't remember how old I was, but I'm leaning towards my senior year of high school. I was woken up by my phone and I noticed it was a number I didn't recognize. Instead of just letting it go to voicemail like I usually do, I actually answered it (shocking, right?). The gist of the conversation went as follows, because frankly, I can't remember the exact dialogue:

Older man: "Well Happy Thanksgiving!"

Me: *uhhhhhh?* "Happy Thanksgiving to you, too. Who is this?"

Older man, chuckling: "Aw come on! You know who it is." No, I didn't. I tried asking again in a different way, but he was so convinced that I was joking with him that I felt bad telling him I wasn't the right person.

Me, chuckling: "Oh hey! Sorry, you sounded different!" 

Older man: *laughs* "So what've you and the family done so far today?"

Me: "Oh, nothing much, we're just waiting to eat some food."

Older man: *laughs* "Well aren't we all?" At this point, from what I remember, he proceeded to tell me about "the family" and how he's already called the rest of my "siblings" and he briefly let me know how they were doing. I'm pretty sure he asked if I had called them yet, in which I responded,

"No, not yet. I've been busy getting dinner ready." I also think I said something about "the kids" playing outside. 

Older man: "Well I'm glad to hear the kids are doing well! Have a happy Thanksgiving and I hope I can see you guys soon. Love you!"

Me: "Love you too!"

It was by far the most entertaining phone call I've ever received. Now before you think I'm a horrible person for letting this cheery old man (who I assume is my "father" or "father-in-law") think he contacted all of his kids that day, think about this: they had to have figured out eventually that he didn't call the right person, in which they probably laughed really hard about it. Either that or his kids thought he was crazy and put him in a home. JUST KIDDING. 

I didn't know the old man, but he was so happy. Happy. And he wanted to share his happiness and gratefulness with his family, and I felt that love through that phone call. It was awesome.

I'm glad for this Thanksgiving. It's the last holiday I have with my family before I leave, and what better a holiday than today?

Plus, my siblings and I have tackled the Black Friday lines together on-and-off throughout the years, which is both terrifying and exciting. It's when humanity is at its worst, which for some reason amuses me. I do love Black Friday.

Last Time in Logan For a While

Before I say anything, please look at these. I think I actually wet myself.

TItled "Future Nobel Peace Prize Winner."

And my favorite...

I went up to Logan to hang out with friends, some of which I won't be seeing for about 19 months.
Basically what I concluded is that I am extremely blessed to have great friends and roommates since I first moved to Logan.

Tara (aka Taraji). She's a ginger. Bread connoisseur. 

Melanie. The future Food Network star.

Jared (aka Turtle O'Pheikens). "We're his friends?"

Sara (aka Crawford). "FBI! LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!"

Jenna (aka Jenna Fiesta). See picture below.

Katy (aka Effin' Pennsylvania). Inventor of the word "skitch."

Shelly. The wannabe nudist/Asian.

(You guys should be thankful I didn't use any other pictures. So many unflattering faces...)

Since Katy's from Pennsylvania and she's going home for Christmas break, I won't see her until I get back. So I've included some very-flattering and not-weird pictures from today.

It's supposed to be Yoga.

And my favorite:

It gets creepier the longer you stare...

If you don't remember, Katy and I are both left-handed insomniacs, we own the same straightener, we're Pirates-lovers and picky eaters (except she's way worse) and soon we'll have Pennsylvania in common.


Watch this. Shelly showed it to me.

Intro to Nov.

I really don't know why this song is called "Six Weeks," but I know it's been stuck in my head this past week. And oh, what a coincidence! Because my farewell is six weeks from today. I expect everyone to show up with an opulent present.*

I don't have much to say, so I'll dance instead:

CLAP CLAP
STOMP
TWIRL
DROP IT LIKE IT'S HOT
CLAP

That was probably the worst dance ever.


I'm totally doing No-Shave November. Oh yeah. I've done it before, and I'm doing it again.
But in reality, it's not any different from what I already do. If you know me, you know that I usually only shave every 1.5-2 weeks because I see no point other than to please the masses. (Come on! Who's looking at my legs? And what's the point in the fall/winter? THERE IS NO REASON. Sweater tights for the win!)


Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes day. So go watch V for Vendetta and make yourself and eggy in a basket. Since I first watched it, I've celebrated the 5th of November every year. And if you've never seen the movie, here's an awesome speech from it... in kinetic typography!



*May or may not be joking.

Thank Heavens for Boys

This is how my trip to Logan panned out this weekend:

First, Petey and I stopped at City Creek, in which I finally found a nice pair of shoes for my mission. Also, we (mostly Petey) had a hard time staying away from the Michael Kors clothing.

We got to Logan. We bought groceries, including a pack of fried chicken for dinner later.

I got to see my roommates (like I've said before, I still call them my roommates), which was fabulous. I haven't seen Shelly in ages, and last time I went to Logan I didn't see Katy that much either. So it was fun talking and playing Mario Kart with them.

We got ready for the Howl. My white makeup was harder to get even than I expected. Petey, Kyle, Natalie and I headed up to the Howl. We saw an awesome Halloween dance from the USU dancers. We watched a bit of the hypnotist. Then we went to the dance.

I'm the Greendale Human Being, of course.

Kyle: "What am I? It depends who asks.
Either a terrorist or a shepherd."

Some logistics team figured out that the most efficient way to get kids to the dance floor is to funnel us through the TSC out through a gated pathway into the Fieldhouse. We were almost inside the Fieldhouse when the security team/cops blocked off the entrance and yelled that no one could go in. We had no idea why, but we quickly started getting crushed by the crowd of people flooding in from behind.

A guy tried to force his way past the guards. They chased him into the dance floor. Not less than a minute later the door by the gates burst open and the green Letterman-adorned sneaky man was being forced out by the cops. Since the growing, costumed horde couldn't move anywhere, we all watched as they handcuffed the guy and arrested him. A little bit after that, they opened the barricade and let us in. We have no idea why they even blocked off the doors. But after that, it was pretty much smooth sailing.

Walking back to the apartment was painful. Our feet hurt so bad.
We chatted with Shelly and Katy for a bit and then ate fried chicken at, like, 3:00 am. It was delicious.

After waking up at noon and packing our stuff, we swung by Kyle's apartment to pick up our driver's licenses. You see, at the Howl you have to have an I.D. to get in, and since Kyle was the only one with pockets, he held on to them. Anyway, I made a particularly terrible right turn. It lead to a really awful left turn. Because of that, I decided against parking in front of his apartment and went for the lot in the back. I made a terribly tight right turn and hit the brick corner of a garden or something. The first thing I said is "I hope that didn't pop my tire, ha ha."

Well,
I popped my tire.

It wasn't a small pop either. It was an 8 inch long gash right through the rubber.

I didn't even know that I had an entire spare tire in my trunk. I was incredibly grateful it wasn't a donut. Because I didn't have enough money to buy a tire. I also discovered I had a jack in my car. Who knew! Good thing Kyle knows how to change a tire, because I can't remember hardly anything I learned in Driver's Ed.

The lug nuts were just the start.

After a battle with trying to get the stupid lug nuts off (it required much effort), Natalie drove us to the gas station to fill up the spare tire enough to not ruin it. When we came back, Kyle had jacked up the car and was ready to get the new one on. Except there was a problem: the tire wouldn't come off.

We poked, prodded, pulled, hit, kicked, and cursed at the tire, but I was convinced it was welded to the axle. IT WOULD NOT BUDGE. So we got a hammer and started hitting and kicking some more. We called parents. We put a rock under the tire, lowered the car and tried to bounce the tire on itself. It didn't work. So we put the rock in the tire. That didn't work. So we put a rock in the tire and a brick under the tire. It didn't work either.

We went to Walmart and bought PB Power Blaster. I soaked the son-of-a-gun with the extremely potent lubricant. IT STILL WOULD NOT BUDGE. We were perplexed: the tire was supposed to just slide right off. I read the Owner's Manual, thinking that there would be a section titled "What to Do if Your Tire Will Not Come Off." Turns out that it's not even supposed to be a problem at all. Petey resorted to actually touching the tire while yelling, "WHY WON'T YOU JUST COME OFF?!" It did not work.

I called my dad and told him to start heading up to Logan. He packed up a sledgehammer.

Petey and I both went inside to wash the grease and dirt off ourselves. [UPDATE: Kyle and Natalie went inside his apartment to eat 'lope steaks because it was taking so long.] When Petey and I went back out to the car, Kyle's roommate, BJ, was sitting on the ground with a good-sized mallet hitting the axle and pulling the wheel. He hit around systematically when I saw it: it budged.

We watched in amazement as he freed the tire from the grasp of the axle. He achieved in less than two minutes what we tried to do in two hours. After that, it only took five minutes to put on the new tire, screw on the lug nuts, and even pump up my tire. I mean, this kid had a built-in air compressor in his car! We packed up the car. I forced BJ to hug me out of extreme gratitude and I quickly called my dad and told him that he could turn around and go home.

We stopped and scarfed down some burgers due to our unexpected hunger before heading home.
Psssh. And to think we planned on getting home early.

Thank heavens for boys.