Katherine's Baptism!

Dear family, friends, cats, and everyone else,

The highlight of this week? Katherine got baptized yesterday! It was amazing. But before I get to that, I'd like to share some other stuff that happened this week.

On Tuesday we had our Zone Conference up in Nazareth, and it was amazing. One of my favorite quotes was from President Anderson, who said, "Don't confuse activity with productivity. Just because you're busy doesn't mean you're being productive." So true! Just because we have busy lives doesn't mean we're getting things accomplished. 

Also, we had the opportunity to get iPads on Tuesday as well. (For those of you who don't know, there are a couple missions in the world testing out iPads right now for use in missionary work.) It was pretty hilarious trying to get them all set up and stuff, because it took quite a long time. But it's been a very interesting start to hastening the Lord's work through the technology that He gave us. I must admit that I'm excited about it, but there's also a lot of pressure to be able to use the devices wisely and obediently. I have a testimony that technology will most certainly move the Lord's work forward!

Thursday we got snowed in, so we spent all day putting in information on our iPads (which we only got a small fraction put in, haha). We were going stir crazy, and the only time we got outside was when we went out to shovel out our car, then proceeded to have a snowball fight, then we rolled down a hill in the snow. 

We had a couple amazing lessons with Kelly (see last week's email/post if you forgot who she is)! We taught her over the phone twice (because of the snow), and it was amazing to see how ready she is to accept the gospel. We talked a lot about the spirit world, and she was so relieved to hear that there's a place after death where everyone will get the chance to hear the gospel. We were also able to meet with heron Friday, in which we taught her the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She kept asking a bunch of questions, and I kept having the thought to talk about the temple. So I paused and said, "Can I show you something?" and I whipped out a picture of the Washington DC temple that I had downloaded earlier that day. She knew what it was immediately. We then started talking about the purpose of the temple. Kelly said, "you know which one is my favorite? The Logan temple." I was shocked for two reasons-- that she actually knew different temples, and two, because of the two pictures I downloaded, one was the DC temple, the other was the Logan temple. So I showed her that one as well, and we talked about how baptism was only the first step, and that getting to the temple was after that. Her jaw dropped. I couldn't really figure out how to read her reaction, but then she said, "Baptism is only the first?! I'm so excited for more!!!" 

Then on Sunday morning we called Kelly and she was talking about how her friend who is Mormon was flying in that week and she was going to see him. She then asked us, "What's the soonest I can get baptized? Like, can I get baptized this week??" We had to explain to her that there were a couple other things we had to go over with her and that she needed to go to church before she could get baptized. She quickly asked, "Well, what more is there?" So in ten minutes we did mini lessons on word of wisdom, tithing, chastity, following the prophet, and more. Never on my mission have I had an investigator want to know all the commandments pretty much from the start! What a miracle!

So, back to Katherine's baptism. It was amazing!!! All week she kept calling us and telling us how excited she was. So on Sunday she showed up and she was so, so happy. When her baptismal program started, she was super thrilled. Her grandson, JM (he's 10), gave a talk on baptism, which was so cute! Then we helped Katherine into the font, and before she went in she was beaming. What's amazing is that her son, Brother Widrig, was able to baptize her. She was so overwhelmed and joyed, and the Spirit was just so strong. I was nearly in tears because of how happy Katherine looked. Then afterwards, Sister Spanogle gave a talk on the Holy Ghost and how it's also known as "the Comforter," and she gave Katherine a homemade quilt! We didn't know Sister Spanogle was planning on giving her a quilt, so Sister Wilson, Sister Wiehl, and I started tearing up because it was so touching. We then performed "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," in which I played violin, Sister Wiehl played piano, and Sister Wilson played the flute. I was so nervous! 

This week was amazing. Katherine is an amazing person, and it just is a testimony to me that the Lord is preparing all sorts of people to hear the gospel. I didn't expect a woman in her 70's to be so willing to be baptized, but then there was Katherine. How wonderful! I can testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to be truly happy. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Sister Singleton

Katherine and I! 

(I love my hair, too! Haha. Sister Wiehl did it. )

Ice, Ice, Baby.

Bonjour!

It's funny, because I keep trying to start this email but I can't quite think of what happened this week. Let me flip through my planner (which is the only way I can remember things)...

Monday we got snowed in all day. But you know this, because I told you this last week. Tuesday was great! A huge blessing was that all of our appointments held, which is quite rare. Wednesday was the opposite. All of our appointments cancelled because of the ice. The roads were quite terrible from the snow storm on Monday. We were out driving for a little bit, but after a while we all felt like it was a bad idea. We ended up stopping at Sister Relitz's house (the Relief Society president) and helped her stuff bears she sewed for the pregnant women in the ward. Thursday was pretty great though! (I'm just noticing a pattern in the days-- one good, one not as good, one good, etc.) The best part, though? We were finally able to meet Kelly!

So, background info on Kelly: for some reason, she has been drawn to the Church for quite some time. Two months ago she put her name in as a referral on mormon.org, but our system has been down for a while. So she waited for two months, expecting missionaries, but none came. Then one day (and I'm not clear on the details), either she told her friend who is in the services in Saudi Arabia who then called our mission office or our mission office just straight up called her, but whoever was working in our mission office said that she would get a Book of Mormon that night. So he called the Whitehall Sisters and told them that no matter what, bring this woman a Book of Mormon that night! They met with Kelly, and when they gave her the Book of Mormon, she started crying because she wanted it so bad.

Well, back up a day when we at the library on Facebook. The Allentown Spanish elders had gotten a headquarter referral that didn't sound Spanish at all, so they gave the info to Sister Wiehl. Well, the next day before district meeting the Whitehall Sisters gave us Kelly's info because it turns out she was in our area. And guess what? Both referrals were the same address.

So back to the main story: we've been trying to meet with her since last week, but all forces seem to not want us there. So when we finally met with her, we were thrilled! Kelly is amazing and super ready to live the gospel! However, she is moving to Utah... in like three weeks. So we're working with her to prep her for baptism so that when she moves she's ready! Meeting Kelly was a testimony to me, once again, that the Lord really does prepare people to hear His message.

The rest of the week went really well. We saw Katherine a couple of times, who is super excited for her upcoming baptism! We were also able to see Kelly again, even though it started snowing last night (on top of the already solid ice roads). 

So yeah! My week was pretty fantastic. Oh yeah, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting yesterday.

Love,
Sister Sarah Singleton

P.S....

Sorry I keep forgetting things and sending separate emails, but this is just too good to skip.

So we were trying to stop by a headquarter referral Saturday night. We were having a hard time finding a parking spot, but there was an open gap in front of this person's  house. We figured it would work for just a minute, so Sister Wilson pulled up. It didn't take long for us to realize that our car was stuck. We tried to back out and move, but it was too late. We were on a solid sheet of ice. Sister Wiehl and I were trying to push the car out, but we could barely get any traction on the ice. So we had to call a member to come and help us.  We were contemplating who to call and then we were like, "the Spanogles! They have a bunch of boys!" So we did, haha.

Brother Spanogle, John, and Wes helped us dig out the car. Turns out we high centered it on a pile of ice. So they spent 40 minutes chipping away at the ice while we tried pathetically to help. The best part? We had unknowingly parked in a handicap parking spot...

It snowed then rained, which meant everything was covered by a layer of ice. This is us standing on about 8-10 inches of snow... but not sinking in.

Stuck in the ice. Waiting in the heat...

Katherine! Brittany! The Breaker!

I'd like to explain:

It snowed so much yesterday that President told us not to use the cars. Well, we weren't within walking distance of any grocery stores, the library was closed, and we couldn't get to the church. Sooooooo we spent all day cleaning and lounging about for our prep day.

So I dropped the ball last week on sending you a scripture a week to study. But no worried, I have week 2's scripture:

John 14:23-27

(For those of you who are joining late, the activity is to study the scripture every day for a week and write down any impressions or reflections you have. It's to help you see your relationship with the Savior.)

This week was awesome! Despite the snow and the wet feet, we had some pretty great moments. We had a lesson with Brittany, who's met with missionaries in the past. She stopped looking into the church for a while, but keeps getting drawn back by the Book of Mormon, which she reads frequently. After playing appointment tag with her (she had to reschedule, we had to reschedule, the snow made us reschedule...), we finally got to talk to her. She's awesome! And she loves cats. But she brought up how she know she needs to be baptized. Sister Wiehl asked if she still wanted to, in which she responded yes. So I invited her to be baptized, and she accepted!

So a little bit of a background story: Katherine investigated the church a while back. Her daughter-in-law turned out to actually be a less active member, and Katherine's son wanted to sit in a listen to what was being taught in his home. Well, Katherine's son ended up being baptized and her daughter-in-law became active, but Katherine decided to stop investigating the church. Well, about a year later, here we are meeting with Katherine, and she's excited to be baptized! We challenged her to stop smoking completely this week so that she can be ready for her baptism, and she did! Now, she used to smoke four packs a day when the sisters first met with her, and now she's smoke-free! What a miracle!

So Katherine's son and her daughter-in-law were getting sealed in the temple on Saturday, and we told her that we would try to find her a ride. We tried throughout the week, but everyone seemed to be staying overnight, which Katherine can't do. As we were in a lesson with her on Friday, she excitedly turned to us and asked us if she was going to the temple the next day. My heart broke when we told her we couldn't find a ride. When we left, we were all so sad because she wanted to go so bad! We were determined to find Katherine a ride, so we said a prayer and called pretty much EVERYONE. We finally talked to a member who referred us to someone in the Lehighton Branch. Well, lo and behold, the member of the Lehighton Branch was going to the temple Saturday morning and could pick her up! We were so excited-- it was definitely a miracle! We even got out of the car and did heel clicks and ran around.

On Sunday there was an investigator-- a tough, stubborn person who, even though he doesn't understand the gospel, he is drawn back to church because he feels better here. He also feels accepted at church. But he got up and bore his testimony, and it was amazing because I could feel the spirit so strong. The part I remember the most was when he said, "I haven't read enough of the Book of Mormon to really say it's true, but as I've experienced... I say, how can it not be true?" How amazing!

Now a little more on the funny side: there's something about the gravity in Pennsylvania that hates me. When I was in Whitehall, I spilled something on myself every day. When I was in Jersey, no-- I was perfectly fine. But my first day back in PA I spilled salad on the floor. Then I accidentally splashed soup on an older woman. And it's only getting worse. I went to heat something up in the microwave and it just... stopped. This morning I went to make toast and discovered that the outlet doesn't work anymore. So naturally, my companions have told others that I've been breaking everything, haha. And now our Relief Society president calls me "The Breaker."

Love,

Sister Singleton

P.S. I just wanted to add a note about Katherine and the temple. We talked to her about the experience on Sunday, and she was beaming! She said she felt so much peace and that she was excited to go in someday. And she made a comment in class that was so cute. She said, "I felt peace! I can't go in because I don't have a recommend, but I am excited to get one and go back." 

I love the temple!

The Bethlehem Trio!

Well,

I am no longer in Medford. It was really hard to leave, especially since it is such an awesome place with amazing people. But what's crazy is that transfers were supposed to be Wednesday morning, but we got hit with a crazy snowstorm Tuesday day. The weather got progressively worse, and by the end of the night President decided to move transfers to Wednesday at noon. Well, on Wednesday morning we got a call saying that transfers were on Thursday instead. So I pretty much spent most of the week in Medford anyway, haha. 

At transfers I was so nervous to see where I would go next. It's always really nerve-wracking at transfers for me. Then it was announced: "Joining Sisters Wilson and Wiehl in Bethlehem is.... Sister Singleton!" I was really surprised, because I haven't been in a trio so far on my mission. And it was funny because like two days before at the Mass's we were talking about trios, haha. 

What's really crazy is that Bethlehem (pronounced "Beth-lum") is right next to Whitehall, PA (for those of you who don't remember, I spent about six months in Whitehall last year). In fact, they meet in the same building. When I got transferred to Medford, I thought it was bizarre because it was right next to Moorestown (where I started my mission). Now I'm right next to Whitehall. THIS IS REALLY BIZARRE. 

Let me just say that even though I've only been in a trio for a couple days, it has been a BLAST. Sister Wilson and Sister Wiehl are loving, laid back but hard-working, and we all get along swimmingly. From day one I felt so much love from them, and I am super excited for this transfer! What's really crazy is that we've all been out about a year (give or take a couple months) and we're in a trio. That does not happen very often. But I am so excited! There's a lot of work that needs to be done in this area, so I'm happy to be a part of it!

We're teaching Katherine right now, who is an older woman who is amazing. We have to teach her short snippets of the lessons (as to not overwhelm her with stuff), but she's been catching on to things quicker and quicker, and she's set to be baptized in a couple weeks. It's amazing to see how much the Spirit can help someone, because the Sisters told me that at first she had a really hard time understanding the lessons, but now she's teaching herself! What a miracle! I'm excited for her.

Well, since I kinda came in at an awkward point in the week, I can't really think of much to add. Oh! Funny story: Sister Wilson and Sister Wiehl didn't tell the District Leader that they were getting a third sisters. The Assistants called the Sisters after transfers calls to let them know they needed to be in Broomall to pick up their new companion (that's me!). So we showed up to district meeting and our District Leader, Elder Wirthlin, didn't believe that I was actually transferred there, haha.

Love!

Sister Singleton

Snow!

 Not the best picture, but it's the Bethlehem trio!

This girl served in the Rochester, NY mission.

She knows Tairsa Brown! I came across her randomly in Philly.

The exact center of Philly!

Last week in Philly.

Last days in Medford.

Bethlehem, PA

Trio! 

Bethlehem, PA

Last days in Medford.

Farewell, Medford!

Herro!

You probably have all heard from my mother already, but I found out on Friday that I am leaving Medford. All week I was super nervous for transfer calls, because I had no idea what was going to happen. I usually don't get nervous for transfer calls, but oh boy, I was like... breaking into random sweats and stuff, haha. I am super sad to be leaving Medford though-- it really is such a special place and it has the best people ever! In church on Sunday I looked around and realized that it would be my last Sunday as a missionary in Medford, which made it hard not to cry. I so wanted to have a fourth transfer here, but alas, the Lord has called me elsewhere.

On Tuesday we had the Relief Society activity, which was super great. It was "A Night With the Savior," and we talked about how we can grow closer to Jesus Christ. They left us with an interesting activity to do over the next three months: every week you have one scripture passage to study, and you read that passage every day during that week and write down your thoughts and impressions. Then at the end of the three months, you look back at what you learned about yourself. I was so excited about the idea, and I know it's Tuesday already, but this week's scripture is:

Helaman 5:12

I will send you the scripture each week, and I want each of you to do this activity with me. As you do it, you'll be able to find out more what the Savior sees in you.

On Friday we had the most interesting experience with a less active member, Brother Laws. We visit him every week because he's home bound and he loves visits from "the Elders" (he continues to refer to us at Elders). Brother Rankins came so that he and Brother Laws could bless the sacrament. Well, Brother Rankins broke and blessed the bread, and then Brother Laws gave the prayer on the water. He had been drinking alka seltzer from a cup to his right, and the sacrament water was to his left. So when he finished saying the prayer, he picked up the alka seltzer water to drink it. Brother Rankins picked up the sacrament water and held out the glass: "No, no! This one--" Brother Laws looked at the glass, clinked the glass and said, "Cheers!"

Now, for those of you who don't understand, the sacrament is a sacred thing. So when that happened, we were all so shocked that we just sat there in silence. Then we tried not to laugh as Brother Rankins simply said, "No, it's this glass..." and convinced him to just drink out of the non-alka seltzer water. Oh boy, was it chaotic!

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to Philly yet again. We went because Sister Meeks is going home today, so it was the last time I got to see her on the mission. Sister Wright and I got there much earlier than expected, so we wandered around and saw the Liberty Bell then went to Reading Station Terminal. So for those of you who don't know what the Reading Terminal is-- it's awesome. You know that part inNational Treasure when she's running away from the bad guys in the market place and hides behind a meat counter? Yep. That's Reading Terminal.  And it's just as if not more choatic than in the movie, haha.

We walked in and there were a bafrillion people and a bazillion shops in a small space. But I loved it! They had everything from crepes to cajun to ice cream to sea food. But we met up with Sister Meeks and Sister Gottfredson there, and it was so wonderful to be able to see her! It was a year ago that I was companions with her, and being with her felt like we were still companions. I'm so grateful that I had her as a trainer!

Well, next week I'll be somewhere new.

Love,
Sister Singleton

PS. I forgot my card reader, so I can't send pictures this week. Sorry!