Happy Haaaaalloowwwweeennnn!!!

So this isn't going to be long because I am not in a writing mood. But, I'm still writing!!

So halloween is this week and it's weird because everyone thinks I'm old because I was on my mission LAST Halloween. So I am old (according to mission life), but that's alright! I'm fine with it! Sister Woodbury and I are "dressing" up as Fairy Princess Sister Missionaries for the ward party on Halloween night, so we're pretty much just adding crowns and wings to our normal outfits. It's gonna be so cute! I'll send a pic next week. 

Our main fun story of the week was that we raked leaves for a less active, Deb, and her non-member fiance mostly in the dark because it's the wintertime now...joy. After we finished for the night, she was driving us home when all of a sudden this car FLEW by us going 90 or something (speed limit is 40), bounced off the curb, went airborne, through someone's fence and into a person's HOUSE! It was so crazy!! We pulled over and went to go talk to the driver, and he stumbled out, definitely on something and not okay, when he just booked it as fast as he could. So when the police and everyone got there, we got to make statements and give the police a description of the driver and a whole bunch of stuff! It was so adventurous for us! And awkward because we were in our jeans. haha when they asked Sister Woodbury for her name, she was like: "Sister Woodbury". The officer asked again, and she replied, "Sister Woodbury. As missionaries, we don't go by our first names." "Ma'am, I'm going to need your legal name." She then sighed and told him. Haha it was funny. One of the perks of being a missionary. Haha. It was quite funny. Gotta love it!

We went on exchanges with 6th ward sisters this week and I got to go with Sister Curley in their area, and it was SO fun! She is just so cute. :) We were able to teach 4 lessons in a DAY and I felt so successful and awesome!! Sister Woodbury and I made it a goal to get our area to that point. So we're going to WORK HARD!!! 

This week, we are going to Rapid City for a Quad-Zone conferences. 4 zones will be coming together in Rapid City and have a Zone Conference by Elder Nash of the 70!! We are PUMPED! Its a 4 hour drive, which will be fun. Sister Woodbury and I are driving by ourselves as elders and sisters can't drive together and the other 2 sets of sisters are driving together. So today, Sister Woodbury and I bought dessert skittles (didn't know they had such a thing) and gardettos and popcorn. We are SET! It's going to be awesome! So we'll be driving up Wednesday around 2 and getting back Thursday around 10:30/11pm-ish. So it'll be a short, fun trip! So that's super exciting. :) 

So I know that picture with the dead deer is DISGUSTING, but I'm in Wyoming, so what else could I have done?? Haha This is the member that 6th ward sisters live with (so Sister Jensen lived with them when she was in the Casper 6th ward prior to coming to Minot with me!) So enjoy it. And don't gag, because you didn't have to smell it. 

This week was a bit rough again, a lot of emotional ups and downs, but Sister Woodbury is AWESOME and she helped me through it!! And I think I helped her a little, too. So we are continuing to do better and we are loving being companions! So practically I love her a lot and am so glad to have her!! Also, the Atonement is real! I kept feeling really stressed and all I wanted was a break, but I realized that no, I don't need a break. I just need a renewal through the Atonement to be strengthened to be able to do what is necessary. So I am a happy camper. 

I love you all!! Have a great Halloween! Eat, drink, and be scary!! 

 

sister leslie.

Me, S. Woodbury, S. Bentley and S Curley at Coldstone...yummers!

...and Sister Woodbury and I in a pile of leaves we raked up...why not?

Me with Sister Curley on our exchange!

Me with a dead antelope....only got the picture because I am

in Wyoming and that's what people here do. 

We're on the up and up!

I'm just going to jump right in!

Sister Woodbury and I are staying together another one!! Woohoo! We are so excited! But because of the sorry excuse for a holiday yesterday (Columbus Day), our pday was changed to today. So tah dah! Today we are emailing. I love Sister Woodbury a lot, she is a great help and comfort to me and we get along great, so it's going to be a great next 6 weeks!! 

This week, not much went down so I'm trying to think of fun stories.

Super Saturday was this week (craft day with the Relief Society sisters), and it was so much fun to get to know the great sisters in our ward!! We learned how to make homemade chocolate and dip it and everything! We made the nougat, weighted and melted the chocolate--we did it all. How nifty is that?? It was awesome!! And delicious. SOOOOO delicious. If it didn't take so much time/money/work, I'd make them all the time.

We found another solid investigator this week!! Her name is Dollie!! Remember a couple weeks ago how I told that cool tracting story about the man who doesn't believe in organized religion, but we were super bold with him anyway? Well, we went to follow up with him this week, and we got to talk to his wife as he really isn't interested. We pretty much taught the whole restoration lesson on the doorstep and she kept saying things like, "Wow, that makes SO much sense!" "Really? I've always had that question, but never found an answer!" It was so cool! She also told us, "The boy missionaries have come by so many times and tried to tell me this same thing, but they didn't pitch it like you did! You sold it!" Haha So she told us to come back. We came back 2 days later, gave her a Book of Mormon, taught her, and she is a new investigator!! She is so solid and has a lot of real intent! We are so excited to work with her more!!! She is concerned with her family, so we are excited to tell her that the gospel blesses families. :)

Sister Woodbury is officially TWENTY so now we're oldies together! Woohoo! In celebration, we ate at the Kler's last night for initiation burgers and tres leches cake and it was delicious! What are initiation burgers, you ask? Well, they are homemade, cheese stuffed burgers that are about the size of my hand that are at least 2 inches thick. They are to die for, but sooo filling. The first time you have burgers at the Kler's, you get a big one and then after that you get a normal sized one. So I got a normal sized one and it was just great. :) So it was a fun birthday celebration for sure!! 

The new sister that came to replace Sister Edwards is Sister Williamson, and she is so sweet! She is with Sister Mower now and they are going to get along great! Yesterday, all 3 sets of sisters went toGreat Harvest for lunch before doing service at Joshua's Storehouse and it was so fun to get to know each other a bit more. :) 

In past companions news.......Sister Manning is now training!!! WOOHOO!!! And Sister Jensen goes home on Thursday...WEIRD!

and I think that's a wrap! Sorry it;s so boring this week, it'll be better and longer this week. LOVE YOU!

sister leslie.

Home primary with the Wintertons and their friend! We were studying the evidence that the 

Book of Mormon is true, so we needed our detective mustaches! :)

Sister Woodbury and I with the BIGGEST chocolate bar I have ever seen

 So big you have to chisel it!

 So big you have to chisel it!

My district right before Sister Edwards and Elder Parrish left 

Sister Woodbury's initiation burger

Baawm!

If you couldn't tell, "baawm" is the word "boom" with an accent thing. That's how we say it here in Casper. And I was saying it a lot this week because of awesome things that kept happening. :)

OH MY GOODNESS!! Do you all remember Barbara, my awesome investigator in Minot?? Well, she is getting BAPTIZED this Saturday!! I am SO sad I won't be there, but I am seriously SO excited for her! I have been praying for her to find an answer, and she got it. It was in the Lord's timing and not mine, but she made it. :) I am PUMPED! Literally floating. :) 

This week, Tracy officially become a new investigator! We were able to teach her twice and she is awesome!! We already love her a lot. :) She has a lot of questions, which is nice because e know what she doesn't quite understand, but it's a bit hard too because she has a lot of DEEP questions about things that aren't necessary for her to understand right now (i.e. exaltation). None of that deep stuff makes sense unless you have a testimony that the simple stuff like the Book of Mormon is true. So that's a fun adventure. But we love her a lot though and she has a sincere desire to know more, so we are just going to keep working with that desire and do all we can to help her!

Obviously the main success of the week was General Conference. I kept receiving inspiration for me as well as those we are working with, and that was awesome. There were some very bold themes of Conference and that was so cool to tune into. For example, some of the main themes were obedience to the commandments and how NONE of the commandments are optional. They were put into place by our loving Heavenly Father and so who are we to say what is needful and what isn't? So that was bold and awesome. Another emphasis was the fact that everyone needs to build and strengthen their testimonies, that NOW is the time to find out for yourself if this message is true or not. That you will get an answer from God through the power of the Holy Ghost and that witness is essential to your conversion. I loved all the talks about following and sustaining the prophet. Not just sustaining the prophet with your hand, but with your heart, showing by your actions and obedience that you know he (in this case President Thomas S. Monson) is truly God's chosen prophet. And I loved through all of these themes that the way to be obedient, to build our testimonies and to receive our answers all come from doing the same, basic things. Elder Richard G. Scott laid these out for us in his talk. He gave 4 principles to do in our life that will help us to attain a testimony and keep us converted to the gospel: first, prayer. Having family and personal prayer morning AND night is a safeguard to you and your family as they are out in the world. Second, daily family scripture study. It further binds your family closer together and strengthens your testimony. Third, to make weekly Family Home Evening a priority. Fourth, to attend the temple regularly. We are told to do these things often because they are needful and necessary. At the end of General Conference, we have the opportunity to make a choice: will we apply what we have learned at conference to help us become better? or will we go on, living life as we always have, hoping to someday become close to our potential? If you think about it, the decision is really easy. Conference is inspired of God. If we have faith that Heavenly Father inspired the messages we heard, then it will be a no-brainer to follow the counsel learned and choose to become better. I know I learned a lot of things that I want to apply into my life and remember. I especially loved Jorg Klebingat's talk in the Saturday Afternoon Session. It answered many questions and I had and brought me peace. I know that listening to the prophet includes more than just hearing the words and then forgetting. Peace, comfort and happiness will be ours as we prioritize our lives and choose to apply conference to our daily lives.

Some other fun stories of the week:

We went on exchanges this week, and Sister Edwards and I went together in her area. It was super fun! We got to teach a lot of lessons and I learned a lot and we were able to get to know each other a bit more. :) We got to teach some less actives and recent coverts and it was awesome! They have some really cool people they are working with in their ward. :) 

Sister WOodbury and I should get the prize for Coolest Home Primary Lesson of the Week. For those who may not know, home primary means teaching simple gospel principles to children age 3-11 in their home when they miss church for a couple weeks in a row. This week, we went ot teach Destiny again and we taught her about the Book of Mormon and the evidence it is true. So we brought an evidence bag, all put on mustaches and investigated the situation. We read out of the Book of Mormon and discussed some things, and it was really fun!! AJ, Destiny's less active older sister was there in the room as well, so that awesome that she could be there! Tender mercies! 

So this Saturday is transfer calls, so if any of you send mail this week, please send it to the mission office, not to me in Casper. I don't think I'm getting transferred, but you never know. If I do get transfered, I won't be able to email until Wednesday probably because I would be leaving on Monday. But I want to stay in Casper, so we will see. :) 

Sister Woodbury is awesome and beautiful as always. :) I am so glad she is my companion. 

Well I think that is about all this week, so TTFN! Tah tah for now!

sister leslie.

 

Sister Woodbury and I as our detective selves

What?? We're all wearing the same yellow again! No way!

On exchange with Sister Edwards

Sister Woodbury and I at the meetinghouse after watching conference