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