Who You Gonna Call? Cat Chasers!

Hello,

I realize that a lot of the time I talk about cats. I just can't help it. But I promise I have an excellent story this week.

Like I mentioned last week, we are cat sitting for our Relief Society President for a couple weeks. Well, I was in the garage feeding the cats and Sister Suckow was on the phone in the front room. She opened up the door to the garage and at the same time I yelled "NO!!!" one of the cats dashed inside. The next 40 minutes were a hot mess. We tried to coax the cat out from under the bed, but it just growled and hissed at us until it eventually ran upstairs. I then had to poke at the poor thing until it ran back downstairs. We managed to corner the cat, but it once again got out of our grasp! Sister Suckow and I were running around the whole house, yelling "You go this way!" or "IT'S OVER THERE!!! GET IT!!!" The furious, fuming feline was eventually trapped in a laundry basket and put back out in the garage. I was so scared that the cat would scratch my face off... But we're back on good terms with the cat now.

This week we also had Zone Training, which was my last. And it was a phenomenal Zone Training, too. The Zone Leaders, Sister Training Leaders, and the Assistants all gave training, and it was very uplifting. I think one of my favorite quotes was from Sister Bradshaw (not verbatim, but I'll paraphrase):

Just because the end result isn't what you thought it would be doesn't mean that the Lord doesn't accept your work.

I thought a lot about that, especially as I'm coming to the end of my service for the Lord. But it's true! If you aren't where you think you should or are what you think you should be, it's okay. As long as you're striving to be faithful and follow what the Lord wants, then that's what matters. And the vision He has for each of us is much better than any vision we could set for ourselves. Sure, I imagined my self much different at the end of my mission than I actually am right now. However, this is what the Lord expected and envisioned from me, and that's the best for me.

The rest of the week we ended up doing a lot of different service things. We helped with the ward welfare garden again, a less active sister with stuff around her house, and then did a community clean up project in which we picked up a lot of trash. The weather out here has been splendid! Oh, I love spring and summer.

The best part of the week, however, is when Roselie and Octavia had their baptismal interview and they are set to be baptized this week! Oh, I am so excited for them! They are both SO ready, and it's been so much fun teaching them. I love them so much!

Love,
Sister Singleton

Gardening & Cats

Hello family... and springtime!

It's been super wonderful outside lately. I did hear there was snow in Utah though. But not out here. Huzzah!

This week was quite a wonderful week. On Monday we got a call from Sister Anderson (our mission President's wife). Now you see, she doesn't just missionaries out of the blue, so we were really surprised. Well, she actually called to tell us something about the #BecauseofHim blitz. President and Sister Anderson were at a Mission President's Seminar in DC over the weekend, and they had Elder L. Tom Perry and the head of the Church Media Department there (along with others, of course). Well, the head of the Media Department pulled up five random things online that best represented #BecauseofHim. And guess what?? They picked one of my photos! Sister Anderson told us that when they saw that it was Sister Suckow and I they pretty much flipped out. Haha! When she told me and Sister Suckow this, we immediately high-fived and went nuts. It was neat because of all the things they could've pulled from the internet, they pulled something from my page that was definitely inspired. The credit all goes to the Lord! 

We finished up teaching Roselie and Octavia (her daughter). We went over the baptismal interview questions and it was a riot! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard when I've asked someone the questions, haha. They are so prepared and so enthusiastic about the gospel, it's amazing. They're set to be baptized on the 10th of May, and I'm so stoked for that!

The ward started their welfare garden this week, and we were able to go help that get started. The turnout was kind of low because it got moved from Friday to Saturday because of the rain. But we helped drive in stakes, measure out rows, and string up posts (for the peas). We even had roasted marshmallows at the end. The garden is a really cool idea that was started last year. There's a member who has 10 acres of land and decided to give 1 acre up to the Church to use. They started a welfare garden for anyone in the community so that anyone who is in need of food can have some. This year they're planning on teaching people how to can, cook, and more. It's a really wonderful missionary opportunity, plus it's great to roll up our sleeves and garden with the ward members. Not to mention I really love gardening.

Our Relief Society President drove out to Utah for a couple weeks and asked us to take care of her cats while she was gone. Of course I said yes! Well, we were supposed to check on them every couple of days, but I had the impression to stop by yesterday after church, even though we weren't going to go until Monday. Well, the cats had no water, no wet food, and no dry food. The poor little things were meowing like crazy and the crazy cat lady inside me just picked them up and held them. So of course we over-loaded their food and made sure they were taken care of. You see, the Lord takes care of us and His animals.

Love,

Sister Singleton

Oh and PS, Saturday was National Pretzel Day. So we got awesome free East Coast pretzels. It was fantastic!

Sometimes this is what Pennsylvania looks like :) 

Planting seeds with that machine-y thing that looks like a bike. 

Elder Goates driving in stakes. 

Sister Suckow, Sister Bodden (our mini missionary), and me on Easter. 

We made #BecauseofHim shirts this Wednesday. It was awesome! 

"He is not here: for he is risen"

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter yesterday. I know I did!

We got a mini missionary for a couple days this week. A mini mission is where highschoolers (or those preparing to go on a mission) can go on if they're preparing for or seeing if they want to serve a mission. I've wanted a mini missionary my whole mission, so we were thrilled when we got the call saying we were going to have one.

On Thursday night our mini missionary came. Her name is Jannomys Bodden and she's from Philly. SCORE! She is awesome! She was so excited to be on a mini mission and she even spoke Spanish, which is super helpful because Reading is nicknamed "Little Puerto Rico." I learned a lot from her, especially how to be bold and to just say it! She wasn't afraid to talk to anyone or to share the gospel. We were very blessed to have her.

Last week I talked about the media blitz and about the whole #BecauseofHim thing. Well, I wanted to share my experience with it. It was possibly one of the most exciting things I've ever participated in. 

One of my favorite things was was at Young Women's on Wednesday. I had the idea that morning to make a poster that said "#BecauseofHim" and to take a picture with the Young Women. We had the Young Women write out all the things that were possible because of Him and then we took a picture of us and posted in on Facebook. Then we did it again on Sunday in our Easter dresses and with more Young Women there. It was awesome!!! We had a lot of positive feedback from members, nonmembers, and people I didn't even know. The girls were just as thrilled about using other social media sites to share their testimonies. The excitement that the girls showed for the whole media blitz was phenomenal. Throughout the week they would let us know how many posts on Instagram had the hashtag #BecauseofHim, and the last I heard it was over 27,000.

And even cooler, a lot of the ward members who didn't really use technology or social media got super into it as well. Then when we would ask them about their experiences or something cool they saw with the #BecauseofHim thing, they would light right up and tell us some cool things they saw. And the more the week went on, we all got more and more excited! 

In fact, we were so excited that Sister Suckow, Sister Bodden, and I went to the park with some chalk and wrote out a big #BecauseofHim and covered a sidewalk with different phrases that were possible because of Him. As we were trying to fill up the sidewalk, it gave each of us the time to ponder what our Savior truly has done for us. It was amazing, because then we just started sharing our testimonies through chalk. It's a pretty neat way to share a testimony. I highly recommend it.

I am so incredibly grateful for all the things that are possible because of my Savior. I am happy, I have changed as a person, I am forgiven, I can overcome weaknesses, I can develop strengths, and I have hope because of Him. I know the Savior lives, and I'm grateful for this Easter time that we've had to share our testimonies with each other and to the whole world through the internet. I will definitely not forget this Easter, because it was such an incredibly powerful one.

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" (Doctrine & Covenants 76:22)

Love,
Sister Singleton

#BecauseofHim

Dear family, friends, and cats,

I am going to die in Reading. Now before you think that's a literal statement or before you think I have a bad attitude about it, let me explain: when a missionary goes home, they "die." So, there you go. We got transfer calls on Friday and found out that both Sister Suckow and I are staying in Reading. It was a bizarre moment, because at that moment I found out where I will be until the end of my mission. I didn't sleep at all that night because my mind was all over the place. But I am super excited that Sister Suckow and I are staying together! (PS, I don't think I ever told you guys how her name is pronounced. It's like "suitcoat," but without the t's.) 

A lot of our appointments cancelled this week, but we did see one really cool miracle. We were just stopping by people in Reading after an appointment fell through. I asked who was next to stop by, and Sister Suckow sat there for a minute. She responded, "We need to see Nikki." Nikki was on the other side of Reading, but I started driving to her house. As we pulled up, we saw that she was trying to walk down the steps. Well, she's pregnant and terribly sick (she has to be on bed rest pretty much her whole pregnancy). We said a prayer, got out of the car and asked how she was. She told us she was about to walk to the store to buy some meat to make dinner for her family. We stopped her and told her we weren't going to let her walk, because she looked like she was going to pass out. She insisted, but we absolutely wouldn't let her go. We told her we would go pick up meat for her instead. She agreed and thanked us. We got back in the car and headed to the grocery store, which was .5 miles away. There was NO way she would've made it there because of how sick she was. We picked some meat up for her and let a member, Elisia, know what was going on. Well, Elisia offered to cook dinner for Nikki so that she could stay off her feet. Nikki agreed and we took the meat over to Elisia's house and we helped make dinner for Nikki.

It was definitely one of those moments where I'm grateful we followed a prompting from the spirit. We weren't planning on seeing Nikki until a couple hours later, but the Spirit told us to go there sooner. So we did. And because of that, we were able to help her and and make sure that she didn't get hurt. Because honestly, she would not have made it to the store and back. The Lord knew that she would leave her house at that time and that we would be willing to stop and see her. What a miracle!

Sunday night we were able to go to "A Walk by Faith," which was a musical performance with testimonies put on by the youth in the stake. It was really great because Roselie came, which was AWESOME! We got there early to help hand out programs and it was cool because I got to see a LOT of people from Whitehall and Bethlehem (two of my past areas). The performance was beautiful and full of the Spirit. Roselie loved it! I was just so glad she came.

I'm going to switch gears for a moment-- guess what the Church is doing this week?? A media blitz! So, from yesterday (April 13) until Easter Sunday, the First Presidency and the Church media department want everyone to post things on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, etc. with the hashtag #BecauseofHim every day this week. The goal is to explode the internet with messages about the Savior. What better thing can we do for the Lord in time for the Easter season than to share it with the WHOLE WORLD?? The Church even has an ad on YouTube that will be up on Easter Sunday, and there's an amazing video on mormon.org/becauseofhim that we want everyone to see. And I meaneveryone. So throughout the week, post things on social media with #BecauseofHim with pictures, stories, testimonies, or that video. So that's my challenge to everyone-- share it every day this week. Give this gift to the Savior. And share your experiences with me! I'll share one right now:

We announced this to the Relief Society and Young Women in the ward. The Young Women were SO excited and could hardly wait to go home and tweet or Facebook something. After class they came up to us and told us that they've been trying to find something to put on the back of the shirts for the new beehives. Well, guess what they're going to put? #BecauseofHim. I nearly cried because I saw how excited they were to spread this Easter message. 

I love the internet. It can be used for so much good. Bad, yes, but it can be used for good. I didn't realize how much I loved technology until I started using it to share the gospel. 

Love you,

Sister Sarah Singleton

mormon.org/becauseofhim

PS. The youth had an awesome murder mystery night on Wednesday! The Elders and us had parts in the program, but the first part was dinner and solving clues. It was hilarious because our table was getting super into it and accusing each other like crazy. Then after we solved the murder, we acted out the scene in the Book of Mormon that the whole thing was based off of  (Helaman 9). I wish I could've gotten a picture of everyone in their costume, but it has to have been one of the funnest youth nights ever!

                            

                                                                   My current district! 

Elder Goates (the tall one), Elder Jorgenson, Sister Manson (thumbs up), Sister Cox, Sister Suckow and I. 

Conference and Confessions of a Sister Missionary

So, Conference was amazing! I'm sure that every missionary in the world is going to email about General Conference today, but it's all good. Some of my favorite talks were these:

Elder Ronald A. Rasband, who talked about how service teaches us to value what the Lord loves. He told a story about Tori, an elementary-aged girl who was in the tornado in Oklahoma last year. She was in the bathroom with fellow classmates and her mom and prayed that the Lord would protect her. The tornado went right over the school and tore everything apart. She closed her eyes because she was scared, and when the tornado was gone, she opened her eyes and there was a stop sign right in front of her face. Those who were in the bathroom with her all lived, but seven of her classmates did not survive. I started crying when I heard this story, because it was so touching to me that even in the midst of a tornado, God can and will calm and protect. 

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who is, of course, my favorite, talked about gratitude. It seems like this talk is a favorite among most people who watched Conference, which is understandable!  He talked about how "gratitude is a disposition; a way of life." e also said that "being grateful is an act of faith in God." How true! I totally agreed when President Uchtdorf said, "gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes." I love that, because honestly, if we all were able to be truly grateful people, than we would be much more like our Savior.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who talked about the 2014 Winter Olympics and how LDS athlete Noelle Pikus-Pace spent years of preparation just for a 4-minute performance in the Olympics. "Consider how your life is like that: You've prepared to come to the earth for a brief moment. It is our 'four minutes.'" Our life is but a brief moment on spectrum of eternity, so we need to perform at our best. Don't wait until later in life to change or repent-- do it now! 

The most amazing part about Conference though was that our investigators, Roselie and her daughter, Octavia, came for ALL FOUR SESSIONS!!! They both absolutely loved it and Octavia asked if it was going to happen every week. She was slightly disappointed when we told her it was every six months, haha. But they felt the Spirit, and Roselie even stayed an extra session (she was supposed to leave after the Sunday morning session to go to New York) because she loved it so much. And it was fun because in between session on Sunday the members traditionally have a lunch between sessions. Elisia made the lunch, and it was delicious Spanish food! Oh, I love Spanish food! Then we had a Book of Mormon reading group for whoever wanted to join in. 

Needless to say, Conference was amazing. I encourage every single person in the whole wide world to watch Conference. If you did already, watch it again!

____________________________

Now for story time:

This morning I had an armful of fresh laundry and I needed a place to put them. I went to move the blanket that was on my bed, and I saw something crawl really fast in the blanket. I yelped and threw the laundry onto Sister Suckow's bed. Well, the bug disappeared somewhere on my bed. Sister Suckow came in, wondering why I was shouting, "STOP IT! GET OFF! GO AWAY!" We geared up-- shoes on hands and feet, ready to squish the sucker. Well, I flipped the blanket off the bed and... nothing. So I started flipping other things off my bed when I saw it.... crawling at super speed down and underneath my bed. 

So we tried to get it out from underneath my bed, but the problem is that there was a pile of hangers underneath. It was a disgusting bug that was quite large and had lots of legs (but it wasn't a centipede or millipede...) and we just couldn't get it. So what do two Sister missionaries do when they can't kill a bug? Call the Elders. Elder Beatty just said, "Are you serious?" When we assured him that we were dead serious, they agreed to come over.

So thus the adventure continued. They took longer than expected to show up, so we texted them. Their response: "We had to stop and get gas."
Our response: "BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!! THERE'S A BUG IN THE HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

They came over, moved the entire bed and finally found and killed the bug. We thanked them, even though it was ridiculous that we couldn't kill the creepy bug.

That is all.

I love you! Watch Conference!

Love,

Sister Singleton

The Pagoda!

The Pagoda, Exchanges, Promptings, Women's Conference, Four Baptisms, and a Funeral.

Wow, this week was absolutely jam-packed with everything. Let's see if I can get all the highlights in:

On Monday we went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. Guess who I was on exchange with?? Sister Jensen! Sister Jensen as in THE Libby Jensen from good ol' Springville (for those of you who don't know, I went to High School with her). It was a blast! I was able to meet a really quirky family who's going through quite a lot right now. Two of the girls are pregnant and don't really know what to do with their lives right now. As they were talking, I couldn't help but thank Heavenly Father for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I was able to share briefly with them about the similarities between their family and mine. I have seen the Atonement absolutely, completely change my family, and I know it will continue to change my family for the better. So testifying to them that it will all work out was an amazing opportunity.

Friday we had a Cottage Meeting at the Bruchez's house. A Cottage Meeting is an informal gospel discussion with a lesson that lasts about 15-20 minutes and is then open to comments and discussions. We talked a lot about the characteristics of God and how we would describe what he is like. The whole time I kept thinking one thing: Merciful. Heavenly Father is such a merciful God, and He loves us so much (Read this talk and Matthew 20:1-16).

Saturday we went and helped a member with a birthday party, and it was fun because there was a pony there. We couldn't ride it, but it was still pretty neat. 

Later that day we were stopping by a referral that Sisters Bradshaw and Suckow had gotten when I was in Reading 2nd on exchanges. We walked up to the door the same time as this guy did (one of those awkward moments), and he just said, ".... yes? Can I help you?" We asked if Brenda lived there, but he said no. So we talked to him a little bit about the Church, but he wasn't too interested. So we got back in the car and were about to pretty much mark off the referral as a bad address. Well, I looked out my window and saw a woman walking a dog. I had the prompting to go talk to her, but I kept rationalizing my way to not do it. The more I fought the prompting, the stronger it got. I finally just looked at Sister Suckow and said, "I have to go talk to that woman." So I jumped out of the car, ran across the street and talked to her. Well, I had no idea what to say. So I just asked if she knew a Brenda that lived nearby. She did! And guess what? She lived in the house that wejust stopped by. The woman told us that her nephew just moved in (who was the guy we talked to) and he didn't speak English that well. So he probably just misunderstood when we asked if Brenda lived there.

It was cool though, because not only did we find out the address was actually right and that the referral really did need our help, but the woman walking the dog was incredibly nice and receptive. Lesson learned? Well, in the words of President Monson: Never postpone a prompting! If I had, I don't know what would've happened. I'm just grateful I finally listened. 

We then went to the 2014 General Women's meeting. If you missed that--WATCH IT. It was amazing! We had a get together at 6:30 (the broadcast started at 8:00 pm) where we did a "Speed Friendshipping" activity. It was pretty much like speed dating, but just getting to know all the women and girls in the ward. The Broadcast itself was wonderful. At one point they showed a video of a girl growing up, and it was focused on her hands and the works she did throughout her life. Well, I don't think there was a dry eye in the congregation. You know it's a women's meeting when they have someone walking up and down the aisles handing out tissues... 

On Sunday there were four baptisms in the building. At one time. It was also one ward's Ward Conference. Talk about slightly organized chaos. We were running around like crazy trying to help with whatever we could. The Reading 1st Elders (the Elders in our ward) had a baptism, but we were invited to help out with an 8-year-old baptism of a ward member. And then there were two more. The church building was packed (in different rooms, of course)! It was amazing to see different people entering into a covenant with God to be like Jesus Christ. I love baptisms! But it's not because that's all we as missionaries think about or anything, it's because when we enter into a covenant with God we get SO MANY BLESSINGS. And the more blessings the better. So, baptism = blessings. 

And we were just barely at a funeral this morning. This is going to sound weird, but I love Mormon funerals. Not that I love people passing away, but I just love how we have the knowledge and testimony that there is life after death. It's sad when someone passes, but their spirit is merely in another place serving the Lord until we will all be resurrected and see our Heavenly Father again. 

Last, but not least... we went to the Pagoda last week. Yay!!!

Sound like a busy enough week?

Love,

Sister Singleton