LOGAN'S BAPTISM!

Goooooooood morning!

As you can tell by the subject, Logan got baptized yesterday! It was a super fantastic experience! But before I get to that, I shall tell you a little bit about the rest of the week.

Wednesday we went to Young Women's and made ornaments with the girls. I attempted to make a Christmas tree out of wooden blocks, but it didn't pan out. Ah well, we still had fun.

Friday we met with a woman at the Alzheimer's Association to discuss doing volunteer work there. It was kinda cool how it all panned out, actually. A couple weeks ago we talked about wanting to find a place to volunteer in the community. Well, the next day we missed a call and the voicemail was from the Alzheimer's Association and it was in regards to missionaries volunteering there before and how they wanted us again. Both Sister Wright and I were like, "Whoa, this can NOT be a coincidence!" We called back and left a message, but we didn't get a response because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Well, we called her back two weeks ago and the woman said, "You know what's weird? I was about to call you guys..." Since the Lord directed us to help at this place, I really hope that we can see miracles come from it!

Saturday was definitely a different day. There's a man in the ward who was having a garage sale and he wanted to put all the funds towards missionary work. He invited us to come and talk to people about the gospel at his garage sale. It was neat because he bought cookies, cocoa, and cider for us to hand out to people. (On a side note: there was also hot lemonade, which, by the way, is my new favorite thing.) It sure was cold, but we brought some great Christmas music to play and we were able to talk to and meet a few people. The guy told us a story about his friend passing away and how after that experience, he was lead by the Spirit to where he was now. It's neat because the day that we stopped by (which was almost a month and a half ago) he had been praying about what to do to help the Lord. And when we showed up, his answer was to help the missionaries. So he did! And he's the nicest guy ever, too.

Saturday night was the Medford Ward Christmas party. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! The decorations, food, and entertainment was awesome. At one point we sang the "Twelve Days of Christmas" as a big group, but there were twelve different groups that had each different item. So whenever it was your group's turn, you had to stand up and sing as loud as you could. My favorite was Sister Lonegan's table with "Five Gold Rings" and Bishop Feuz's table of "Two Turtle Doves." It was hilarious to watch. It was so much fun, and I really, really love the Medford ward so much.

Story time:
The Medford ward doesn't really have too many baptismal suits, so we had to pick up one for Brother Mass from either Cherry Hill or Moorestown. Well, when we were talking to Brother Mass about what size he needed, he just said, quite seriously, "You're going to have to find a suit made by Omar the Tentmaker." I could not stop laughing.
 We were sifting through the suits at Moorestown and Sister Wright found one that (finally) wasn't super tiny. Turns out.... it was a 6x. 6X! Brother Mass definitely did not need a 6x. We texted Brother Mass and his response was, "Well, it will be big enough for both Logan and I." Hahahahah.
 

Well, now we're to Sunday. SUNDAY! Oh my gosh, I was so excited all of Church. I could hardly wait for Logan's baptism. And Logan was excited, too. The Cherry Hill Elders brought a smaller suit for Brother Mass, and when they realized that they had left their towels at home, we suggested they use the 6x... hahah.

On a more serious note of the baptism, it was definitely a wonderful experience. Brother and Sister Mass, Sister Mass's parents, and Logan's cousin all came. The whole room was packed with people from the ward, and the Spirit was so strong. I could barely keep from crying I was so happy for the Mass family. When Logan came up out of the water, he gave his dad a big hug. It was the most tender moment, and I teared up.

It's hard to think that less than a month ago Logan approached us and asked us to be taught the missionary lessons. It was such a whirlwind of an experience, and I am so humbled to have been a part of it. I am so, so grateful to be involved in this great work! Logan was so prepared, and I am so proud of him for his decision. Now I'm excited to see him continue to change and grow!!!

Love yous!
Sister Singleton

Selfie!

So.... here's where it shows the awkwardness of taking pictures with people you can't hug.

Snow & Stake Conference

IT SNOWED!

I don't even like snow, but it wasn't really feeling like Christmas. Now it does.

Hello everybody! I would like to start off by following up on what happened to Dobby (our car). We took him into Pep Boys last week and had to leave the car for a couple hours. So the majority of our Pday last week was spent roaming up and down the highway and going into random stores (Pet Smart, Staples, Kohls, 7 Eleven...). But anyway, there wasn't exactly anything wrong that they could find, but for some reason the car is running fine now. I'm convinced that there was some sort of mysterious animal living in the car and when it got discovered it scuttled away.

On Tuesday we had to drive to Philly yet again for Golden Retraining. It's a meeting where trainers and goldens (new missionaries) go for a small conference with President and the Assistants. It was really fun, and once again, we survived the drive. One thing we learned was how to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in eight minutes, and it was neat because you could really feel the Spirit very strong in the whole room. I loved it! Also, President was talking to us about "loopholes" in rules, or how some missionaries try to find exceptions, loopholes, or rationalize certain things. He asked about Christmas music and loopholes that one could find. One Elders' response? "Santa Baby." We all got a laugh out of it.

A lot of the week was spent teaching Logan to make sure that he'll be ready for baptism on the 15th. So we met with him almost every day and it was pretty awesome to see how much his testimony has grown. I'm so excited that he's chosen to follow Christ's example and that I've had the privilege of teaching him.

Saturday we went to the evening session of Stake Conference in Cherry Hill. It was announced that the new focus for all evening sessions (I think across the world, actually) was going to be "Hastening the Work." It was awesome because all the talks were on missionary work and how it's really not that hard to do.
 Elder Evans of the Seventy told a story of how he was assigned to a woman as a Home Teacher and her husband wasn't a member. He brought the missionaries with him and talked to the husband for just a little bit. For years he'd been visited by Home Teachers, so he was pretty familiar with the Church. Elder Evans just asked a couple questions about what his thoughts were and about his feelings of the Church. Elder Evans then said, "Well it sounds like to me if you knew this were true you would be a member, right?" "Yes! But I don't know how to know it's true." "Well, I know some people who are really good at helping you with that..." and he pointed to the missionaries. A couple weeks later the husband was baptized.

Missionary work is so simple. Just love and serve others. It's through our actions that the gospel is preached.

Sunday we had Stake Conference in which a new Stake Presidency was announced. President Corbitt was called to be a mission president, so our new Stake President is President Sikahema. I'm so excited because I was able to get to know the Sikahema's when I was in Moorestown and they're awesome people!

And back to the snow topic: yesterday it snowed all day, and we ended up with about eight inches. People in Jersey have no clue how to drive in snow, so it was interesting to watch.

Well! I love all of you. Be sure to remember Elder Ballard's challenge to "reach out to someone by Christmas." I know that if you take this challenge seriously and pray and look for opportunities to share the gospel, that this Christmas will be much brighter all around the world.

Love,
Sister Singleton

Snow pics

FOOD! Dobby's Dying. It's December!

Hello,

Before you ask about pictures (mom...), yes, I've got a lot to send this week. So there.

Thanksgiving! I do love Thanksgiving, and I'm grateful that I'm serving in the States because I got to eat lots of food and celebrate. Hooray! In fact, President Anderson made a comment on our conference call on Wednesday that he wanted all the missionaries to have "little fat stomachs."

Food stop #1) On Wednesday night we went to the Scheimreif's for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. It was tons of fun and full of hilarious company. They do Thanksgiving dinner the night before because people usually go to extended family the following day. We had a blast there!

Food stop #2) Thursday morning we went to the Mass's for breakfast and to teach Logan. It was funny, because when we showed up it was dead quiet. But here's the thing-- their house is never quiet, except when Brother Mass is gone, haha. So we helped with breakfast a little until everyone came back from the Turkey Bowl. We were able to have fun and also teach the Plan of Salvation.

Food stop #3) Our first official Thanksgiving meal on Thanksgiving. We had lunch at the Reeve's (which by the way, I'm related to through the Singleton side). We got to meet the Reeve's two sons who were visiting from Philly and North Jersey.

Food stop #4) The Casey's! This was complete madness, chaos, and fun. So......  just like home. We played games while we waited for dinner (air hockey, ping pong, checkers...), and it was tons of fun. We got to meet a lot of their family, and it turns out that Brother Casey grew up in Springville! In fact, his sisters still live there, AND one of them is in my Stake at home and she was visiting for the holiday!

But we had tons of delicious food, and I'm pretty sure by that point I should've just stopped. But oh boy, no need for self-control on a holiday.

Food stop #5) At this point, we're already past uncomfortable, but we had one last stop to Sister Guerrera's house. Sister Guerrera goes to the Spanish branch in Camden, so this was our first time meeting her. She gave us a call on Monday to invite us over, and it was a hilarious phone call because I couldn't understand a lot of what she was saying and it was the back and forth of:

 "What? Could you spell that? Uh... I didn't get that... could you spell that? What? Uh...."  But! We figured it all out and visited her. She gave us pie and apple juice, which was the final tipping point.

So, putting the food aside for a moment:

Thanksgiving really is fantastic. It is an opportunity to stop and be grateful for the things we have. I am so grateful for all the awesome people in my life, and I'm grateful for all that the Lord has blessed me with. Being on a mission is awesome, and I would never take the experience of being out here back. There's a quote that we shared with all the families we saw throughout the week:

"There are 86,400 seconds in a day-- have you used one to say 'thank you?'"

Show your gratitude to Heavenly Father and say thanks for what He's given you.

______________

As for the rest of the week, we went to Kyra's surprise birthday party. It was really fun because we got to meet the Mass's family and be there to support Kyra. She was so mad that everyone knew except her, because apparently she doesn't like surprises, haha.

So, next story: our car, Dobby. Well, Dobby seems to be sick or dying. There's a weird light that keeps coming on, it's making a horrible scraping noise, and the maintenance required light came on permanently on Saturday. We talked to Elder Jones, who's in charge of vehicles, and he told us not to drive it too much on Sunday. Which was going to be super hard, because our plans were all over the place! Well, on Sunday all of our plans fell through. Which ended up being a blessing to us, because Dobby sounded much worse. We ended up going to the Mass's to teach Logan, which was super awesome. I've never seen someone so prepared to hear the gospel! We're SO EXCITED for him.

Love yous!
Sister Singleton 

Brother Mass.

Thanksgiving breakfast.

Food stop #2 (of the day)

Food stop #3 (of the day)

Banners at the Casey's house! (This is for you, Katy!)

The Casey's have a tradition of smashing a chocolate turkey on Thanksgiving. 

We're full.

Kyra's surprise birthday (Monsters University-themed)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation rival house (that's what I call it).

Zone Conference & Gratitude

Greetings!

I honestly don't know much that happened this week. Probably because a missionary's brain can't remember things unless they're written down in a planner. And guess who left their planner at home?

Well, it looks like the best things are first:

We taught Logan this week! The lesson was awesome and he pretty much already knew everything. It was so amazing to see how much the Lord prepared him to hear the Gospel. I couldn't ask for anything better! And the best part is when Sister Wright invited him to be baptized, he said, "Definitely!" I am totally way more excited for his baptism than for Christmas.

And another great thing involving the Mass's (you'll start to notice that almost all awesome things in the Medford ward involve the Mass's): they got sealed on Saturday! I so wish that I could've gone, but we were so excited that Brother and Sister Mass could be sealed together for eternity!

On Thursday we had Zone Conference. We thought we left early enough to get to Philly on time, but we were wrong. We showed up right as it started, which is always awkward. But it was my first time driving to and in Philly, so my nerves were on fire. When we went across the Ben Franklin Bridge it was mass chaos and I was just like, "AHHHHHHHHH EEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Driving in the city is always kind of a crazy thing. Also, people park their cars in the turn lane. I will admit that I haven't seen that before. But we made it.

Zone Conference was amazing! President talked a lot about how we need to be more effective teachers. A lot of the time when we (missionaries and members alike) teach, we tend to over-complicate things. We add in stuff that doesn't really matter. And it starts to detract from the Spirit. in the scriptures the Lords says: "Behold, I will hasten my work in its time." (Doctrine & Covenants 88:73) So shouldn't we hasten our work?

President Anderson had us practice teaching the Restoration in seven minutes. It was definitely tough, but the more we did it, the more we realized that people don't need to hear everything, they just need to feel it. And the best part is: we've already seen two awesome miracles because of it! The first was on Thursday night when we were heading to dinner after Zone Conference. We decided to teach the Restoration simply and it was so powerful! We were able to teach a less active family and the daughter's non-member boyfriend, and we ended up leaving him a Book of Mormon and he came to church! It was so awesome!

The next miracle was on Sunday. We stopped by a headquarter referral that we had talked to two weeks ago. We asked if they had 15 minutes for us to share a message and they invited us in. We taught them the Plan of Salvation and the mom was very emotional the whole time. The Spirit was so strong, and we were able to testify, teach, and answer questions in about 20 minutes.  Needless to say, I love that President Anderson has been inspired to help us become better teachers. I challenge all of you to learn how to teach the Restoration simply and concisely.

On Friday I went on exchanges with Sister Haas, who came up to Medford with me. We taught the White family, whose son was technically a convert baptism, but only because he's 10. So we had a blast with them. I tried to make an origami parakeet, but the instructions were vague and I just couldn't make the beak. Sad day.

And finally, with Thanksgiving this week, I'd just like to say a few things I'm truly grateful for:

First and foremost, I'm grateful for the Restored Gospel. Without it, I would not be as happy as I am. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and for their infinite love for us. Everything that I have is because of them. I'm also grateful for the Book of Mormon, and for the fullness of truth that it gives us.

I am also grateful for an awesome family. I love every one of you wholly, completely, even if we drive each other nuts sometimes. I couldn't ask for a better family.

I am so incredibly grateful for every single person in my life. Everyone has played such a different role, and I know that my friends, the people I've served with and around, and all those who I've known have been such a help to me. Thank you all so much for your love, and for being you.

And finally, I'm grateful for love. There is no maximum capacity to love, and being on a mission helps me see a little bit more what Heavenly Father feels for each of us.

Love,
Sister Singleton

The Best Darn Day of My Whole Entire Mission

Okay.

So before I begin, I would like to say something in regards to the subject line: I have had so many amazing days on my mission. TONS. I don't want to make it seem like any of the miracles, baptisms, stories, or awesome people I've met don't live up to this. Sunday was just.... awesome.

Let's back up a little bit: Earlier this week we saw a less active woman who is just super sweet and is looking for a church for her kids. It was neat meeting with her, because we got the feeling that in the past the missionaries have always focused on her husband, who is not a member. But as we talked to her, we realized that she needed a lot of help building a testimony. So now we get to focus on her-- hooray!

Friday was a fantastic day as well. We went up to the Mt. Holly/Eastampton area earlier in the day to stop by a headquarter referral, visit a woman in the ward, and to go to our appointment with Brother Laws. As we stopped by the referral, we were able to talk to the mom of the referral and pray with her. It was a really great timing and a wonderful experience! Then we went to Sister White's house for lunch and met her daughter. This was the first time meeting with either of them, so it was pretty awesome.

Since we had trouble finding a Sister to go with us to see Brother Laws, we had to call them up and talk to his wife (who isn't a member). We explained to her that if she wasn't there, we wouldn't be able to go because we didn't have another woman who'd be able to come. Now, Brother Laws' wife is really nice, but she's usually in and out while we're there. But it actually worked out, because she stayed for the whole lesson! Miracle!

We were going to head to the library afterwards, but then we realized it was closed. We weren't sure what to do, and I had the prompting to go visit Lumberton.  I flipped open to the Lumberton section of people in our binder and one particular family in the ward stuck out to me. When we stopped by, we found out that a friend of theirs was going through a really rough time and this family wanted to share things with them that would help. So we went through scriptures and talks with them to share with their friend, and they told us we were an answer to their prayers, which was so humbling. We were truly being led by the Spirit.

Now it comes to Sunday.

Let me give you a little background on the Mass's.
 They are the most awesome family. Brother Mass joined the church first (if you ask him his conversion story it will take three hours to tell, haha), followed by his two daughters, Autumn, then Kyra, and then Sister Mass. Their son Logan has been away for the past 15 months and recently returned home. Autumn & Kyra aren't super active in the church right now, but they're the most awesome family ever.

So...

Sister Wright spoke in church on Sunday. As I was sitting in the pews with Sister Divece, I looked over and saw the Brother Mass, Sister Mass, and Logan sitting down. A few minutes later Kyra walked in followed by... guess who? Autumn! I was so excited to see their ENTIRE FAMILY AT CHURCH. OH MY GOSH.

There were also a lot of other less active members at church, including Sister White, who isn't able to make it because of some health problems. But she made it and stayed the whole time! There was even a man in the ward who was working on getting a yard sale going who told us that he wanted to donate all the proceeds to the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission!

But the best part is this:

After sacrament meeting and before class, Brother Mass waved us over to the front to where he and Logan were standing. Jokingly, Sister Wright said, "Yeah, what do you want?"

Brother Mass: "I don't want anything..."

We looked at Logan.

Brother Mass: "Hold on, press the rewind button."

Logan: "Well... how would I go about getting the missionary lessons?"

We were both stunned. I'm pretty sure my brain exploded as I sat there trying to figure out how to respond. The only thing I could get out in my excitement was, "Well, we could start teaching you this week!"   

OH MY GOSH. IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING MOMENT OF MY MISSION!!

We've been praying and fasting for someone to teach, and everyone was hoping that Logan would be the one (his family and us included), and now he is! It was a humbling, amazing, truly extraordinary moment on my mission! I was so excited that I could barely focus the rest of the day.

I know that the Lord prepares people everywhere to hear the Restored Gospel. What a wonderful work we can be a part of, and what a wonderful job I have to share the Gospel! I love it so very much, and I know that it is what truly makes me happy.

Share the Gospel. Be happy.

Love,

Sister Singleton

My Missionary Commission

Dear People,

So I must start off by mentioning that today was the first snow of the season! It's definitely getting much colder out here, but at least it's still pretty for now. 

This week we tried stopping by a lot of potentials (people that were possibly interested in the past) and former investigators. We did a lot of that each day, but weren't able to talk to too many people, unfortunately. One night we stopped by every person on our list and then some and we still had an unexpected hour and didn't know what to do. Since it gets dark super early people aren't as willing to talk to us, so we've been trying to find a more useful thing to do in the evening hours. We're still working on a finding a solution, haha. 

On Wednesday, President Corbitt came to our Zone Training and spoke to us. It was really great because he talked a lot about working with members and helping the ward achieve their goals. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but missionary work is all but impossible without the help of members. We simply can't do it on our own, and the ward can't do missionary work on their own. Thus, we have to work together.

One great moment about Zone Training was when we all went into the room with the baptismal font and prayed together for each others' investigators. Afterwards we had a really powerful testimony meeting, in which I was grateful to bear my testimony. 

This transfer we've been memorizing Bruce R. McConkie's "My Missionary Commission," and I wanted to share it with you, because I love it so much:

"I am called of God.
My authority is above that of kings of the earth.
By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him-- to stand in His place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me.
My voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts; my doctrine is His doctrine.
My Commission is to do what He wants done; To say what He wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous Latter-day work.
How great is my calling!"

How great is my calling! It's very humbling to know that you have been called of God to preach His gospel. My favorite line is "He is my master," because He truly is. Everything we do should be because we love the Lord and we want to serve Him. I invite all of you to refer to the Missionary Commission frequently and to really ponder on what it means to you. 
One great story to finish off the week (well, technically it happened yesterday, but whatever...):

Sister Wright and I went into Philly for the day, and when we were headed back we were trying to find a place to get a cheesesteak (of course). We found a new place and were waiting inside for our food when a guy came in asking if the place did Veteran's discounts, and they didn't. He was leaving and I asked across the restaurant what branch of the military he was in. So we started talking to him and when he found out we were Mormons he mentioned the temple that was being built. So naturally, we started talking about the temple! We gave him a card with the Philadelphia temple picture on it and ended up talking to him for over 20 minutes. He was super awesome, and he had so many questions. He thanked us for sharing it with him, and I was grateful that we were able to. My favorite quote from him was when we were talking about temple sealings (when we're married in the temple for eternity). 

"Wait, what did you call that again?"

"Sealing. It's like being bound together forever."

"Oh... that's so romantic." 

It was a fabulous "missionary  moment," and after that a woman sitting next to us commented about something and we were able to talk to her about the Philly temple, too! How awesome!

I love all of you guys, and I'm grateful for your support and prayers. 

Love,
Sister Singleton

 

LOVE park... with a Christmas tree!

 Parts of the temple are rising above the ground!!!

The George Washington monument.

 

Oh, the Week!

Bonjour,

This week was a crazy, ridiculous whirlwind of a week. How about I start from the top?

Monday: We found out Monday that transfers were actually Tuesday and Wednesday, not just Wednesday. I spent (what feels like) my whole Prep day calling members for a ride to Broomall, to no avail. But hey, at least I was able to get a long sleeve shirt, right?

Tuesday: We were able to hitch a ride to Broomall with the Moorestown Sisters. I knew that I was going to be companions with Sister Adams and Sister Bennett for a day before I picked up my golden on Wednesday. The Moorestown Sisters were leaving in a trio and (presumably) coming back with only two, so it was going to work just fine. Right? Nope.

So at transfers the Mo-town Sisters were shocked when they picked up a third, Sister Maughn. So I then had to rush and scramble to find someone to give us a ride back. We were able to hitch a ride back with the Vineland Elders, and it was kinda neat because both Sister Adams and I were back in Moorestown (Sister Adams was also trained by Sister Meeks!) So we were back in our "birth place."

Right after we got back, Brother Reeve, Sister Mass, and Logan Mass were all waiting for us at our apartments to help move our beds and the rest of everything out. So poor Sisters Bennett and Adams had to help me move, clean, and organize.

Fun story: We knew we had to leave at 7:00 am Wednesday to go to Broomall, so two of us were going to shower Wednesday night. Well, we had never used the shower before, and Sister Adams couldn't get the water to get hot. So I volunteered to just shower in the cold water. It was the coldest thing I've experience on my mission. But right as I was about to shut the frigid water off, I DISCOVERED THAT BY TURNING THE FAUCET THE OTHER WAY, IT GAVE HOT WATER. *Face palm*

Wednesday: Transfer meeting! I got my new golden, Sister Wright! SHE'S NOT FROM UTAH! Haha, I keep telling everyone that she's my first companion not from Utah, which is a big deal. She's awesome though-- she's 19 and totally prepared to go on a mission. I'm pretty sure she's just retraining me.

We were able to go to the Trunk or Treat at the Church later that night. I was so stoked, because I was worried that we wouldn't be able to make it. We cut out a poster to model the Philadelphia temple and handed out candy taped to temple cards. It was really fun because there were a lot of less actives and lots of people who came. Also, a little kid accidentally pulled the fire alarm so we got an extra treat of a visit from the fire department. Hooray!

Thursday: We stopped by a Headquarter referral that was way out in Shamong (a long ways away). We actually had the miles to stop by him, so we did. He is a Baptist Reverend, but he knew that the Mormons gave out free Bibles, so he wanted one to give to his friend. We talked to him a little bit and he said he was always curious to learn more about us. It was really neat, because the timing was an absolute miracle. We would've never had the miles otherwise, and he pulled up right as we were about to leave.

Then.... we cleaned and finally moved out of our apartment.

The rest of the week: Pretty nice. 'Nuff said.

I am so grateful to be here in Medford. I am so excited to be with Sister Wright, and I look forward to more miracles. The ward here is so fantastic, and I am extremely grateful to be a missionary at this time. As I've been reading Doctrine & Covenants, I've noticed something that appear more than once:

"1 A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the children of men.
3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest;therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.
4 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God."

(D&C 6:1,3-4)

This great and marvelous work is the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a responsibility to share the gospel with everyone around us, and as we do so, we will inherit Eternal Life. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,
Sister Singleton

Sister Adams was also trained by Sister Meeks, and this was both of our
first areas.

Trunk or Treat

An artsy display.

Be jealous-- it's fall!

IIIIIIIIIIIII'm Moving Out!

SO MUCH THIS WEEK.

 

Saturday we spent all day moving out of our apartment. We had the Elders and a couple ward members help us, but it was exhausting. We're still living in our current apartment until Tuesday though, so all we have left is our beds and a box of breakfast food (cream of wheat, oatmeal, and pancake mix, of course). Saturday night we realized that our food accidentally got sent to our new apartment, so we didn't even have pasta to cook, haha. So we just went to Wawa and got sandwiches (I love Wawa sandwiches!). This morning I just sat on the empty floor and studied. It was a sad sight. 

 

 

Tuesday we did service for a former investigator, John, that the Elders worked with. I trimmed hedges (just call me Sister Pro-hedge-trimmer from now on) while Sister McNeil cleaned the pool. As we were leaving, the Sister that we had with us invited the man to dinner at her house. He said that he would check to see if he had anything going on and would come if he can. Well, lo and behold on Wednesday we headed over to dinner at Sister Penrod's house and John showed up! We were both really excited, and I was excited mainly because I've never had that happen before.

 

On Friday we met with Brother Laws, a less active member (due to his health). We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with him and had a lot more time leftover than planned. Sister McNeil pulled out her iPod to listen to a Conference talk, and I suggested that we listen to President Uchtdorf's talk. As we were listening, Sister Laws (who isn't a member) stopped and listened in. Halfway through she asked curiously, "Who is that?" You see, Sister Laws is from Germany, and she was curious as to who was speaking with a German accent. So we talked to her about the Apostles and were able to talk about the priesthood and a little bit about the Restoration. It was super awesome because right before we came into the area, Sister Laws started showing interest in the gospel but we haven't been able to meet with her until Friday. Yay!

 

Also, transfers is this week! Sister McNeil is being transferred, which was a shock to the both of us. But it was a fun transfer, and I look forward to staying in Medford. And the fun new is: I'M TRAINING AGAIN. It was funny because I gave President a call on Saturday, and he said, "Well, while I have you on the phone... will you train again?" I joked that I just shouldn't have called him, haha. 

 

Fun story: we had dinner with a part member family earlier in the week. We showed up, knocked on the door, and...... it wasn't them. However, the family that we accidentally knocked into were super nice to us, and he told us to come back if we needed anything. So we were like, "Maybe 302, not 802." So we walked to another apartment, knocked, and...... it wasn't them. The guy just looked super confused and I just said, "Wrong house again. Sorry!" Well, we eventually found the right apartment, but it was pretty funny. Missionaries are just awkward.

 

Love you!

Sister Singleton

Moving. Of course we're going to take pictures outside...

Ron the Baptist.

Wingapo,

So before all of you ask, yes, it's turning to fall time. The leaves are changing, the weather has been crisp and cool, and I can wear cardigans all the time. Cardigans!

This week we still worked on smoothing out our whole apartment situation. We think we've finally got everything settled, and we're hopefully going to find out today when we're going to move. But other than that, we just worked on stopping by less active members in the ward and trying to finally get everything organized.

By far the most interesting thing that happened this week was on Saturday night. Sister McNeil and I stopped by the 90's Walmart (it seriously feels like you're in the 90's.... don't ask me why) and on our way out, Sister McNeil stopped to look at a Furby beanie. I turned and noticed a guy that was leaning over to read my name tag. Once he saw it he just nodded his head and said, "that's what I thought." He obviously knew about the Church, so we started talking to him. Turns out he is a baptist pastor.

We talked to him for a long time. About an hour, actually. He told us that he was concerned about our salvation, and that he wanted to help us see the truth. I was touched that he cared enough to stop and talk to us for an hour. And no, we couldn't answer all of his questions, but I never said I could.

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty" (1 Corinthians 1:27).

"That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers"(Doctrine & Covenants 1:23).

The fulness of gospel is preached by the weak and the simple. God doesn't need skilled men and women to go out and nitpick the Bible. He sends out 18-year-old boys and 19-year-old (or in my case, 22-year-old) women to testify of the Gospel. As we talked to this man, I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Book of Mormon is true. I had no doubt that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in in fact the Lord's Church. And I have no doubt that all of it is true.

Everyone will get a chance to hear the fulness of the gospel. God loves each of His children, and He wants all of us to return to him. He said it it Moses 1:39:

"For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

I testify of this boldly in the name of Jesus Christ.

Love,
Sister Singleton

Soon: Living in a tent?

Good day, chaps!

Well, I must first start this letter by saying that fall is finally starting to come! (I know, all you people in Utah are probably still complaining about the snow...) But this past week was cool and rainy, and the leaves are finally starting to change! It's kind of weird to have fall come, I think mainly because the holiday season is right around the corner and it's just all going so fast.

The highlight of this week was definitely exchanges. And guess who I went with? Sister Meeks! (For those of you who haven't tuned in for a while, Sister Meeks was my trainer/first companion.) It was so good to just be back serving with her again. It's been like seven months since I served with her. I miss her so much, so it was a treat to be able to go on exchanges with her! Oh my goodness, what a flash back to old times. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun.

The rest of the week pretty much consisted of looking for apartments and trying to figure out our living situation. There's been a lot going on with the apartment debacle, so Sister McNeil and I have been tempted to just ask the Church to buy a plot of land that we can pitch a tent on. Either that or just buy a permanent house that the missionaries can live in. Or an RV. The options are endless.

We also spent a lot of time this week trying to work on the finder binder, and since I've been staring at maps for so long, I'm pretty sure when I talk to people I just see roads and coordinates on their faces...

I'm going to switch back to General Conference now:

Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk was one of my favorites because we are all in danger of being in bondage at one point or another. The Gospel is designed to help us be free. 

"Bondage, subjugation, addictions, and servitude come in many forms. They can be literal physical enslavement but can also be loss or impairment of moral agency that can impede our progress. ... Other kinds of bondage are equally destructive of the human spirit. Moral agency can be abused in many ways.

"First, addictions that impair agency, contradict moral beliefs, and destroy good health cause bondage. The impact of drugs and alcohol, immorality, pornography, gambling, financial subjugation, and other afflictions imposes on those in bondage and on society a burden of such magnitude that it is almost impossible to quantify.

"Second, some addictions or predilections, while not inherently evil, can use up our precious allotment of time which could otherwise be used to accomplish virtuous objectives. These can include excessive use of social media, video and digital games, sports, recreation, and many others.

"Third, the most universal subjugation in our day, as it has been throughout history, is ideology or political beliefs that are inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Substituting the philosophies of men for gospel truth can lead us away from the simplicity of the Savior’s message. ... This is emblematic of our own day, where gospel truths are often rejected or distorted to make them intellectually more appealing or compatible with current cultural trends and intellectual philosophies. If we are not careful, we can be captured by these trends and place ourselves in intellectual bondage.

"Fourth, forces that violate sincerely held religious principles can result in bondage. One of the most invidious forms is when righteous people who feel accountable to God for their conduct are forced into activities that violate their conscience—for example, health providers forced to choose between assisting with abortions against their consciences or losing their jobs.

"Our primary emphasis, however, should always be to make any necessary sacrifices to protect our own family and the rising generation^. The vast majority of them are not yet in bondage to serious addictions or false ideologies. We must help inoculate them from a world that sounds a lot like the Jerusalem that Lehi and Jeremiah experienced."

He concluded with this: 

"Our challenge is to avoid bondage of any kind, help the Lord gather His elect, and sacrifice for the rising generation. We must always remember that we do not save ourselves. We are liberated by the love, grace, and atoning sacrifice of the Savior. ... If we are true to His light, follow His commandments, and rely on His merits, we will avoid spiritual, physical, and intellectual bondage as well as the lamentation of wandering in our own wilderness, for He is mighty to save."

'Til next time,
Sister Sarah Singleton

GENERAL CONFERENCE-- EXCLAMATION POINT.

Well hello!

Since my mind is pretty much consumed by General Conference, I can't remember much of what we did this week. On Wednesday we went to a member's house to help her do some fall cleaning, and I mopped while Sister McNeil was in charge of vacuuming and dusting. After a little bit, Sister McNeil found a dead mouse underneath the kitchen table that the cat killed and just left. Silly cat. Luckily we were there cleaning, because she said she wouldn't have noticed it for a long time.

Oh! On Wednesday we went to the youth's mutual activity at the Moorestown mall-- Where's Waldo. So they had five adults from the ward hiding/walking around the mall, and we had to go around and find them to get a sticker from each of them. We split into groups and took off. I'm pretty sure I got my exercise in for the transfer, because we were going all over the place! My favorite person that we found was Ben, a young man in the ward who wore a "Where's Waldo" shirt, a wig, and a hat. He was just walking around like normal, and Sister McNeil was like, "Wait... is that Ben?" So we sent one of the young women in the group after him, and he just stared at her like she was crazy for a minute before giving her the sticker. Haha, it was so much fun!

So the best part of the week: General Conference! (For those who don't know, General Conference is held twice a year and it's where the Prophet, his counselors, and the Apostles speak to us to give us counsel and guidance.)
SO MANY GREAT TALKS. I don't even know where to start. I also forgot my notes, so I'll summarize what I can remember:

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith."

Elder S. Gifford Nielson: We should have enthusiasm in sharing the gospel-- exclamation point.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talked about depression, and about how he suffered from it for a while in his own life. Depression is a very real, serious issue, and the Lord cares about each one of His children, and is willing to help with every aspect of our lives, not just the spiritual aspect.

And of course, President Monson talked about missionary work and how "now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord's vineyard to bring souls unto him."

I love General Conference! If you didn't watch it, go watch. If you haven't watched it before, go watch. If you were stubborn and didn't watch it, go watch. We are blessed to know that the Lord still has prophets on the earth, and that Heavenly Father still speaks to us today. I can testify wholeheartedly off all these things, in the name of Jesus Christ.

Love you!
Sister Singleton

Relief Socity Broadcast

Bienvenue!

So this week was pretty much the same as last week, except with a few more exciting moments. We went to Philly on Monday and visited the temple site, the Rocky steps, Love Park, and Game Piece Park. It's been so long since I've been to Philly, so it was nice to go there again! I even got a piece of the granite that they drilled out of the site to build the foundation of the temple.

We had dinner with the Mass's (or is it Masses?), and let me tell you, they are the COOLEST family ever. They all joined the Church last year at different times, but they are just so awesome. It was funny because Brother Mass can no longer hug the missionaries, so every time we give him a handshake he makes a (fake) fuss out of it, haha.

We went to the church to go to Institute, but it had been cancelled without us knowing. So we ended up staying for Young Women and getting to know some of the girls in the ward. We sat and talked as we made magnets (so that the chalkboards don't look as drab). It was kind of neat because we had one of the girls (who isn't a member) comment and ask if we would be coming every week, because she thought we were fun.

Saturday was the Relief Society general meeting! I hope all of you got to watch it, and if you didn't, you should. We went to the Cherry Hill chapel for a dinner beforehand, and it was kind of neat because I got to see a few people from the Moorestown ward there, which was awesome. I also got to see quite a few of the other Sister missionaries, including Sister Grover, Sister Jensen (from Springville!), and Sister Meeks.

The broadcast was super awesome! I don't have my notebook here with me, but one thing that really stuck out to me was when the speaker was talking about covenants (a covenant is a two-way promise between God and us). She said, "we go to the temple to make sacred covenants, and we go home to keep those covenants." Our daily lives should reflect the promises we make with Heavenly Father, and we should act accordingly. She also talked about the sacrament, and how each week we're able to renew our covenants and show Heavenly Father that we're just as willing to follow Him this week as last week. Isn't that so great?

And to end the week, we went to the baptism of two kids in our ward. About an hour before the baptism we found out that one of the kids was 10, which means he's technically a convert baptism, and isn't under the direction of the Bishop. The whole third hour of church we were making phone calls, and we got special permission from President Anderson that he could be baptized as long as he was interviewed by the District Leader. So Elder Barker rushed over as soon as he could and interviewed him. But the baptism was really sweet because it was big brother and little sister being baptized!

I love all of you. And don't forget I exist, okay? Okay. Haha.

Love,

Sister Singleton

PS. General Conference is next week! Aren't you all SUPER excited??! Remember to prepare by pondering, writing down questions that you have, and remember to listen to the Spirit as you watch General Conference.

The Philadelphia temple site!

The Philly skyline and I.

Medford & Electric Yellow Popcorn

Guess where I am? MEDFORD, NEW JERSEY!

So this probably means nothing to you, but think about this: Moorestown, NJ was my first area, and Medford is right next door. In fact, Medford was in my first district.* When I was in Moorestown way back when, it was an Elders' area, in which Elder Bennett (who is also from Springville) served here. So you can imagine my surprise when at transfer meeting I saw my picture up on the screen for Medford. I was like, "Medford?? That's an Elder's area. Why's my picture up there?"

So my new companion is Sister McNeil, and she's the coolest person ever. She really likes Batman and superheroes and grew up with only brothers. We are both new into the area and we moved into the Elders' old apartment, which was dis.gust.ing. We've literally spent the last few days cleaning, and we've only made a dent in it. Everything is sticky for some reason... but hey, we found a Nerf gun hidden away and there's over 100 paper airplanes all over the walls and ceiling (thanks to Elder Bennett). Elders.

So I'm back in Jersey, and it's pretty awesome. There's a saying among missionaries that goes, "Once you serve in Jersey, you can't get away." And it's proving to be true, haha. But the Medford ward is awesome! Within the first few days, we had at least three people call us or talk to us and tell us that they were looking for people that we could teach. I was pleasantly surprised at their attitude and their willingness to help us. We have had so many people jump right on board to help us, and it's been awesome!

Since the area's new to us and nothing much happened, I guess I'll try to describe our stay in Medford a little bit:

In our apartment there is a stack of tubs of different popcorn kernels (blue, jumbo, ladyfinger, and yellow) and a bottle of "popcorn oil." We've been making our popcorn in a pot covered with a plate/jumbo pot lid, then spraying it with canola oil and mixing it with this weird butter powder we bought, which makes our popcorn electric yellow. I feel like the more I eat it, the more likely I am to get a weird mutation.

We eat sitting on the floor amongst papers, clothes, and random object strewn about the apartment.

There's a creepy ice cream truck that circles around our apartment at 9:00 every night playing its music.

There's a sad lack of lighting in our apartment, even with the lamps in the front room. One lamp periodically shuts itself off because the wattage is "abnormal," but we checked and the bulb is the correct wattage (?). That lamp is my fiend.

Despite how awful I've made the apartment seem, I really do love Medford already. I am grateful that the Lord has trusted Sister McNeil and I to be the first sisters here in quite some time, and I look forward to the growth and miracles in this area!

I love you all! Please email me and let me know how you're doing, because I love and care about all of you!

Love,
Sister Singleton

*A district makes up usually 2-4 companionships of missionaries.

Transfers & Roger Bannisters

Olo?

 

Big news first: I'm leaving Whitehall. We got transfer calls on Saturday night and I was shocked that I was actually leaving, although the past few weeks I had the thought that I would be. I've been here for almost six months, so it's weird to think I'm leaving. It's hard. But I know that the Lord wants me elsewhere, so I'll go. What's really odd is that I'm only halfway through training Sister Maybury, so I was surprised that I was leaving before I finished training her.

 

Awesome news: Elder Shane M. Bowen (of the Quorum of the Seventy) came to the mission last week! It was the first time that I actually was able to meet a General Authority, and I learned so much from the conference. We had to be in our seats at Nazareth at 7:30 am, which meant we had to wake up at 5:30 am. But it was totally worth it. Before the meeting started, Elder and Sister Bowen wanted to greet each of us personally, and we were going to go row by row, but then he stopped us and asked for the Sisters to go first. As us Sisters started getting up, Elder Bowen said, "Elders, if you're wondering why the Sisters are going first it's because they're better than you." Hahahah. Okay, I don't include this to be prideful, I just thought it was funny.

 

Elder Bowen talked about a number of things, one of which was "false limitations." He talked about studies of a jar of fleas. If you put fleas in jars and leave it uncovered, they jump right out. But if you put fleas in jars and cover it, they'll eventually learn to only jump to the height of the jar. And when you take the lid off the jar, the fleas will still only jump to the top, and so will their offspring. This is because there is a false limitation that has been created. We often tend to create for ourselves "false limitations." As missionaries it can be:

 

"Nobody will talk to us in that area."
"That less-active family won't listen to us."

"The members will never come out with us because they're too scared."

And so on.

 

So how do we overcome the false limitations? Elder Bowen brought up Roger Bannister, the first person to run a four-minute mile. Back then, it was "scientifically proven" that it was impossible to run a four-minute mile. But in 1954, he did it. Within the following year, six people broke the four-minute mile. Roger Bannister created a paradigm shift for the world, and he overcame that false limitation. So as missionaries we need to pay attention to the miracles we see in our areas and in others' areas. Elder Bowen said to "look for the Roger Bannisters in the mission. Then we'll begin to see more and more Roger Bannisters appear."

 

This lesson isn't just for missionaries, it's for all of us. Think about the false limitations you've created for yourself. ("I'm never going to get a high GPA," "I can never be worthy to go to the temple," "My kids are never willing to help me," etc.) Now find a way to overcome them. Change your mindset and you'll begin to see the "Roger Bannister" changes in your lives. I testify of that wholeheartedly!

 

I love all of you guys, and I'm so grateful for your support. Keep up the good work, the good lives, and always remember to look for missionary opportunities in your lives. I was reading in Alma 17 this morning:
"My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks."

 

Love you!

Sister Singleton

 

Sister Lindsay and I on exchanges.

Elder Danner and I (with Elder Merkley photobombing).
This picture is for Becca Murdock, who knows him.
Crazy small world!

The Stofkos.

Me and Luis. He's the new Ward Mission Leader. He joined the church
last year and is a true example of a member missionary.

 

 

Member Missionaries & "The Harvest"

Hey Yous,

 

I hope you all had a great Labor Day! This week felt so much different than the rest of the transfer. It's been somewhat of a rough transfer, but after we started teaching Tracey on Monday, things feel a lot different.

 

Nothing big happened this week since Monday, but we've been able to see lots of miracles and tender mercies! A less active woman told us that after she prayed and read the Book of Mormon for the first time in a while, she immediately got a phone call for a job interview (she has been looking for a job for a while now)! When she was telling us what had happened, I knew that the Lord had blessed her with a miracle. I was so happy!

 

Sunday was a super awesome day. It wasn't super out of the ordinary, but it was just amazing and full of the Spirit! First off, I said the opening prayer (wahoo?), and Sister Maybury gave a talk on keeping the sabbath day holy. Sister Bryce also gave a fabulous talk on member missionary work, and it really was SUPER good. Here are some highlights:

 

"To not be scared is the biggest step in missionary work."

 

(On opportunities to share the gospel in everyday life) "The man at the toll booth said, 'Have a blessed day.' We drove off and my friend turned to me and said, 'See-- that was the perfect opportunity to share the gospel! I would've given him a pass-along card.' When things like that happen, we should say, 'You think it's a beautiful day? Just wait until you read the Book of Mormon and get more blessings in your life!"

 

"A lot of times people don't know [things about the Mormons], and that's party our fault. [We need to tell them]."

 

"We can make every excuse-- how we were too scared, or out of our comfort zone-- but in the end, it's all on us [to share the gospel."

 

I'll let you think about those awesome quotes, because they really stuck out to me.

 

We taught Sunday school, and our topic was on "service." It was pretty neat. But the third hour was really unusual-- we did something called "The Harvest." Some of you might know what it is, but I had never done it prior to Sunday. Basically what it is is looking at all the unknown names on the ward list (the people that noone knew) and we set out in companionships to go find out if they still lived there, and if they did, we were to invite them back to church. So we had maybe a dozen or so companionships leave during church to "rescue the lost." I went with Sister Sandoval to find a couple apartments in Allentown, and it was super fun. One miracle we saw from "the Harvest" was a woman that Brother Stofko had gotten a hold of. She was moving out of Allentown into Whitehall, and she would've been gone in less than a week. If we wouldn't have had "the Harvest," we would've lost track of her completely because she didn't have a phone. Isn't that a miracle??

 

Well, I love all of you guys. Please, please, please look for missionary opportunities to serve: whether it's sharing the gospel, visiting a less active member, or reaching out to those you don't even know. Missionaries cannot work without the members, and members just can't do it without the missionaries. We need your help!

 

Love you!

Sister Singleton

Labor Day Miracle!

Hola!

 

This week we had Zone Conference up in Nazareth. It's always really fun seeing other missionaries and getting to spend most of the day with them and President and Sister Anderson. (For those who don't know, Zone Conference is a big ol' meeting put on by the President and his Assistants, and multiple zones of missionaries go to it.) The focus of our meeting was understanding our purpose as missionaries even better. You see, we recite our purpose every day:

 

"Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end" (Preach My Gospel, pg 1).

 

I don't have my notebook with me, but I promise I learned more about why exactly missionaries serve, and it made me think about all the things I do in my missionary work and if they're helping to bring others closer to Christ.

 

This week, once again, was a trying week. We were still struggling to find people to teach, so it was no secret that I was looking forward to fast Sunday. I fasted so that we could just find direction in the Whitehall area and for someone who needs help. On Sunday night we were visiting with a less active member, and we were just telling her how we felt like we hadn't accomplished much in the past five weeks. She stopped us mid-sentence and told us that because we've been visiting her and helping her, we changed her life. It was a very humbling moment for me; I had been ungrateful for the things that we were seeing and had focused on the things we weren't seeing. I have seen many miracles in the past few weeks-- they weren't the miracles I wanted or expected, but they were there. And for that I am incredibly grateful.

 

I guess since Labor Day is included in this email, I'll let you know how awesome it was. We were just out and about in the morning when we got a call from Bishop Smith. He had been referred to a woman by a Bishop in Nazareth who needed financial help. Bishop Smith talked to her about helping with the financial aspect of things, but then told her about the missionaries and what we do. So lo and behold, we were at her house later that afternoon and taught her the Restoration. It was a very powerful lesson, and she was just so sweet. We invited her to baptism and she said yes! We are so excited to be working with her, and it was definitely an answer to our pleas for someone to teach! Miracle!

 

A quick message I wanted to share with everyone in lieu of Labor Day:

 

One form of work that we do is serving others. It is by far the most rewarding work, and I've never met anyone who has regretted an act of service they did for someone. We need to serve one another out of love, because that is how we show our love for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

 

"35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:35-40)

 

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17)

 

My challenge to you all this week is to look for an unplanned opportunity to serve someone. Service can take place in many forms, so don't feel like you have to organize a leaf-raking brigade. Then let me know how things went, okay?

 

Love yous!

 

Sister Singleton