Cops & Cats

Well, well, who do we have here?

Oh, it's those that I love. Yay!

A quick story on how our week started off:

Monday was a super rainy day. Sister Hall and I took our violins and went up to an area where a woman had told us to come back. We showed up as she was leaving, so we decided to walk around in the rain with our instruments (in the cases, of course). We didn't talk to too many people, but about an hour later we were about to knock on a door and a police officer drove up. Apparently someone didn't really like our joyful attempts to play music and called the cops on us. Of course the officer was super nice, so we talked to him a little bit and went on our way. Needless to say, that was the first time that's happened on my mission. (But will it be the last??)

Tuesday we had Zone Conference, but this one was special because it was President and Sister Schaefermeyer's last. They're going home next week :( It's been so much fun to have President Schaefermeyer as my mission president, especially since he's just so relaxed, faithful, and full of love. We talked about how whenever someone comes up with objections to the Church, one of the prophets, a point of doctrine, etc. it always, always goes back to the Book of Mormon. It doesn't matter what in the world the objection is, if they read and pray to know the Book of Mormon is true, then it will be answered. This applies to everyone.

Since it's been published, the Book of Mormon has been tried and torn apart by many people, but it's never been disproven. And why is that? Because it's true. I know it's true. It's 100% completely true, and because I know that, I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom on the earth. If anyone doubts those (or other things), then what do you need to do? Read the Book of Mormon. (Is this starting to sink in?)

This talk from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is one of the most powerful talks, and it's on the Book of Mormon. Watch it!

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng

After Zone Conference, we went on some crazy exchanges, in which I ended up in Kutztown for two days. We did service all day on Wednesday, in which we painted, helped a woman with things around the house, and then we did yardwork. At the last house I learned how to use a riding lawn mower. It was terrifying but fun. I've always wanted to ride one of them!

Another story! So we stopped by a potential in Kutztown who had talked to the Elders like two years prior. After Sister Stephenson introduced us, the woman didn't really have a response, and I didn't know what to say. I'm pretty sure there were crickets churping... Then suddenly a giant, fluffy orange cat ran out the door, and of course my immediate response was, "KITTY!" and I reached down to pet it. I started talking about how much I love cats, and then the woman told us about her other cats and how she rescued them all. We ended up talking to her for about 15 minutes, and it was really awesome. I even got to pet her other two adorable cats.

So, moral of the story #1: Just be yourself. Be genuine, and you'll find something to talk about. Moral of the story #2: Cats are the best.

In lieu of Father's Day, I just wanted to bear my testimony on how much our Heavenly Father loves us. He loves me, He loves you, and He knows everything we're going through. If we're going to be open and honest with someone, let it be our Heavenly Father.

Brother Norton gave a talk yesterday on fathers and related it to Superman. Superman had two fathers: his natural father and his earthly father. The things he was given and learned from each father combined was what made him the Superman, and not just a really strong guy. It's the same with us-- we learn things from our Heavenly Father and our earthly fathers and those things combined are what enable us to reach our highest divine potential.

I'm so grateful and blessed to have a wonderful (earthly) father, and I know that it's because of his example that I am who I am. I love you, dad!

I also love you, mom. And everyone else, of course!

Sister Singleton

Race Track

After district meeting, Elder Pond set up a giant racetrack with cars. It was super fun.

This is Sister Libby Jensen! For those of you who don't know, we totally went to high school together and were in orchestra together! Oh my goodness, she's serving in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania mission. What up!

The Sisters at this zone conference. Aren't we so good looking?

A more serious picture of us sisters and zone conference.

President Schaefermeyer and I.

Jake, the ugly dog who lives with us.

Me and Sister Schaefermeyer.

Hey Yous!

Hey Yous!

 

Since quite a bit has happened this week, I'll just get straight to the good stuff.

 

There was a special missionary meeting in Newark, Delaware this week, but we were too far north to drive down. So instead our zone was invited to go to a broadcast of Scranton's Stake Conference, so we did. Elder Bednar spoke, and it was amazing! These are some highlights from his talk:

 

Why do we share the gospel? Why, to other people, do we seem almost annoying about sharing it? Elder Bednar told a story about how his sons were playing outside on their little bikes when one of his sons crashed into the side of a car and got scratched up. His older brother took him inside and brought him to the kitchen sink. Elder and Sister Bednar watched as the older son poured dish soap down his arm and scrubbed. "What could only describe the sound was 'weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.'" After the older brother scrubbed the wound, he got a tube of Neosporin and bandages and put them all down the little brother's arm. Right after, the little brother ran outside and put bandages and Neosporin on his friends.

 

Why did he do that? It's because he knew that the Neosporin and bandaids fixed his "owies." It was instinctive of him to want to share the relief of pain with his friends because it felt so much better. And that's exactly why we share the gospel-- "we all have spiritual 'owies,' and we know that the fullness of the gospel heals those and it makes us feel better. So that's why we try to share it. We may seem a little annoying at times, but we do it because we know it can help everyone."

 

 

"The days for praying for missionaries is over. Stop praying for the missionaries to find people to teach-- you find them! Get the faith to find people!"

(To which all of us missionaries cheered.)

Along with that he said, "Stop praying for the people who weren't at church to come back. Go get them. Go-- right now-- and get them back."

I don't want to try to shove it down your throat, but missionaries hear a lot of members complain that their neighborhood hasn't been worked in. That's not our job-- it's your job. You're the missionaries in your own neighborhood, so go out and find and invite people.

 

 

And last, but not least:

"Agency does not mean the ability to choose. Too often I've heard teenagers say, 'I have agency, I can do what I want.' That's not what it means. Agency is the ability to choose the right. It's not choosing what you want, it's choosing what God wants." He then went on to explain that "before you were baptized, you had individual agency. But when you were baptized you chose to have representative agency. That means that your choices are representative of what Jesus Christ would do. We choose what He wants, not what we want."

 

 

Amazing, right??

 

 

As far as everything else this week goes, it rained for an entire day, which was super new to me since Utah's a dry old desert.

 

Sister Hall and I have been taking violins around and playing duets for people, which has been fun and interesting. We only have hymns as of now, but we're able to play and share a quick message for people. We actually stopped by a house that didn't have time before, and their college-aged daughter was home. We ended up teaching her the Restoration and leaving her a copy of the Book of Mormon. It was a miracle!

 

One of my favorite moments this week was when we hunted down the ice cream man. We heard the ice cream truck playing, and I was determined to talk to whoever was driving it. So we searched for the ice cream truck and tried to wave him down. We eventually found a park he was going to drive by (do we sound creepy yet?) and waited for him. I totally bought a Batman popsicle and shared a quick message about the Book of Mormon. It was really neat!

 

Well, I love you all! Don't forget that you can email me... *cough cough*

 

Love,

Sister Singleton

Me and President Schaefermeyer

Popsicles!

OH MY GOODNESS, HEAT. There was a heat wave from Thursday to Sunday, and I have NEVER BEEN HOTTER IN MY LIFE. I can't even begin to describe how gross I felt. Luckily I get to wear a skirt, whereas Elders have to wear pants.

 

So much happened this week. On Wednesday we went up to Lehighton for Golden Retraining. It was so fun! I realize now that I never mentioned when I went to Golden Retraining as an actual Golden. Whoops. But anyway, it's a meeting for trainers and their goldens by President Schaefermeyer and the Assistants. We get together, learn by the Spirit, get pumped, and watch a really awesome Elder Holland talk. This golden retraining was unusual-- there were more Sisters than Elders. But that's going to be a lot more common now.

 

Right after Golden Retraining, I went on an exchange with Sister Lindsay. Sister Lindsay is a training sister, which is basically the equivalent of an Assistant to the President, but for Sisters. Make sense? Everyone getting this? So we went on exchange, and it was short but fun.  Because we had to be to Zone Training the next morning by 8:30, we met up at a gas station as a halfway point at 7:30 am. We drove to zone training and totally got there WAY early, at 8:10. I have no idea where my calculations went wrong, but it was pretty funny.

 

In Zone Training we learned about how to get the ward members involved in missionary work. Remember that it's our responsibility as members to share the gospel always, not just when we're on a mission. That's part of the promise we made when we were baptized into His church. Something I learned was that whenver someone gets baptized, they are asked how they found the church. Almost every single person who is baptized has a friend introduce them to the Church. Isn't that amazing?! We all know someone who we need to share the gospel with. And if you don't think you know anyone, pray to find a date on which you can have someone taught by the missionaries in your home. I promise that if you do that, the Lord will provide you more opportunities to share the gospel.

 

Saturday the Zone Leaders came into our area for a couple of hours in the morning. While they were out, Sister Hall and I went around with her violin to play for people. IT WAS SO HOT. We were only out for 40 minutes before we almost melted into a puddle of flesh. And surprisingly, most people said no to a song on the violin. But, the last house we tried we saw a girl washing her car and asked to share a song with her. Her mom was nearby and said yes and invited the husband to listen. Sister Hall played a song and I shared a message, and they were so intrigued and wanted to hear more so we set a return appointment. It was a miracle!

 

And last, but not least, Sister Hall and I taught Gospel Principles yesterday. When class started it was just us two and Sister Beers. Eventually the Elders and Sister Katie Burgio came in, but it was fun to teach.

 

In Relief Society we talked about prayer and how we can make it more meaningful. I know we all struggle with prayer at times, and the best suggestion I heard was to picture you and Heavenly Father in a setting that would be familiar to you. For example, if you love camping, picture Him and you talking around a campfire. Or for me, I imagine us talking while developing pictures. Or hiking. But it makes it meaningful and personal, and you'll notice that it will naturally turn into a conversation instead of just a "voice mail" you leave for Him. Because that's what prayer is-- it's a conversation. A great talk is in this month's Ensign, I suggest everyone reads it. (http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/06/improving-your-personal-prayers?lang=eng)

 

I love you all!

Sister Singleton

Hot, Cold, Rain, and Memorial Day.

Well hello!

First of all, let me tell you that last Monday was by FAR the hottest day I've ever experienced. All because of this darn humidity... We went Frisbee golfing yet again, but this time it was HOT. We were all dying. But then the second half of the week took a rather abrupt turn toward the cold. Like, I had to break out my wool socks and blanket during study time. And now it's raining outside.

So, awesome things first: we have two people with baptismal dates! Whoo! There's a family in the ward who were formerly less active, but have recently started coming back to church. We taught the kids last week, and Sister Hall was able to invite two of the sons to baptism. They were so genuine and excited when they responded, "Yes!" that I couldn't help but smile. It's amazing how the gospel is so simple that a 10-year-old (the younger of the two) can understand and want to live it.

Last week we found an older woman who was sitting outside with her dog and talked to her. When she asked who we were (because she can't see that well), she responded, "Missionaries?! I LOVE missionaries!" She basically told us her whole life story (which was incredibly fascinating) and invited us back. We stopped by to see her again, and she told us even more of her life story. She's a very spiritual woman with an incredibly strong faith in Christ, and hopefully we can find a way to teach her the Restoration (and more!), because you know, old people like to talk.

Friday was a funky day for us. For some reason, nothing we planned lasted longer than 15 minutes max. We stopped by a bunch of people, but they were either not there or on their way out. And so it was the whole day. The longest conversation we had was with a man on the phone who was looking for people to help with his house. Even our back up back up plan was to go to the library, and it had only 15 minutes until it closed. Hahah. And when we went to go to a dinner appointment, they weren't there. So we just laughed and went home to make dinner.

Memorial day! What a great day. We went to a Scout fundraiser breakfast for the Bethlehem ward, and they had a dessert auction afterward. There were some awesome things, including a Star Wars Death Star cake that lit up and a Despicable Me cake, in which Bishop Smith got the latter.

Afterwards we were able to go visit a headquarter referral (a referral from Salt Lake/online) and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. He told us about a coworker who he found out was Mormon and wanted to learn more because his coworker is so happy. As a missionary, it's always awesome to work with/come across people who want to learn more because of a friend who is a good example. It reminds me of the scripture in 1 Timothy 4:12, "... be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." We need to always be a good example, no matter what, because we never truly know the effect it can have on someone.

I love you all!

Until next week,

Sister Singleton