WOW, where is the time going? First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for being... AWESOME!!!!! That's right !!! YOU ROCK!!!!!
I have been on my mission for 5 months!!! Hooray! Last week, my companion Sister Walker got transferred to a different area, so now its just me and my lovely comp sister Clevenger! So it was pretty funny last Monday.... in our apartment spending the night we had myself, Sister Clevenger, Sister Walker, Sister Dixon (sister walkers new comp), and a greenie...sister Wodznow! so there where 5 of us!!!!! All in our little 2 car garage home! :) Transfers always bring a surprise... So its funny, because I am already the 3rd oldest sister in the Mission! There are 10 sisters now.... AND guess what? they are upping the numbers to 18!!! So in our mission there will be 18 sisters, 35 Spanish speaking elders, and 142 English elders.... Geez, now I know why my second transfer was so hard. The third transfer I got 2 greenies, and now we will ALL be training forever!!! HAHA! HORRRRAY! BEST NEWS EVER!
I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!! ITS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD! I already burnt my poor white Wisconsin feet on the black top. 2 Days ago it was 95 and soon it will be 120! AHHH So this letter may be kinda short. We will see....
Our family ward is just BOOMING with work! This transfer we will be BUssssy!!!! Its so wonderful being a sister missionary. Everyone loves you! I love all the love we receive! Last week our ward had a ward party ....and it was simply perfect coming to a big party with tons of wonderful awesome families sitting at tables and laughing...It was at our ward mission leaders home...in his backyard! :)
Debbie is doing WONDERFUL!!!!! Whenever we meet with her she happily exclaims "11 days and NO COFFEE!!!!!!" She is so super excited to be baptized!!! As Mormons, we don't want our bodies being addicted and in control of substances like alcohol, and drugs, and even coffee...so our minds stay free and clear and WE are in control of our bodies! :) So that's why Debbie is so excited..she is giving up coffee to be baptized! We are singing a special musical number at her baptism!
Also We had a Car show and BBQ last Sat at our church! there where 150+ people there! it was awesome! 3 elders and us had a table with movies and pass along cards...we have 2 new investigators! YAY! plus 1 more that came to church last week. I know it sounds like we are being blessed...and WE ARE! But we are also working our butts off, and need to work even harder! I LOVE being a missionary and appreciate it so much...its all for the Lord. This is all for him. He leads and directs us! UG! HE IS SO AWESOME!
I hope you all had a very happy Easter by the way! .. So one of our less actives is a man in his 60s... he is so funny and kind. He has white hard and can't come to church a lot because he is on dialysis....We've been "practicing the lessons" on him, and last lesson he had shaved off his funny white beard! Last week 8 elders and us did service work for him and his wife! they LOVED IT! He is just so much more happy AND YESTERDAY HE CAME TO CHURCH!!!! AHH He looked SO happy and I ran up to him and actually, gave him a hug as he was walking to his car in the parking lot....and said "brother Goodnough!!!! you came to church!!!!' I was SO happy!!! You come to know how your savior feels SO much by serving a mission. Now I have a taste of HIS joy, when WE choose the RIGHT! I want to make my father in heaven happy in all ways!! I LOVE HIM!!!!!!
We have 14 lessons already for this week, and I am super pumped because this wed we are doing humanitarian work up at Deseret Industries!!!! :) AND this wed I am photographing seniors at Bonaza High School...the ones who cannot afford a photographer! :) Sister Figgins is a school teacher there....she hooked me up! AND a rich photographer from my YSA ward is lending me one of his cameras and lenses for the shoot! AND he said I can keep it until i move out of the area! blessings! :) hopefully i remember how to work a camera! probably...well see! Remember, I had to remind my self I was a photographer 3 months ago...I had forgotten! :)
May 18th we get to go to the temple!!! BLESSINGS!!!!! (that's our p-day and when i will be emailing next) and this Friday we have a leadership training to go to...i am a trainer so yippee skippie that will be fun! :) I LOVEEEE all the people out here and our mission president and his wife ROCK! go on our mission blog and make some comments! (and find me and sister Clevenger!!!) www.nevadalasvegaswestmission.blogspot.com :)
Today we drove up to the north to this flag shop that is in a different hood! I finally purchased a Nevada Flag! Now all my mission brothers and recent converts can sign it! (mission tradition!)
Also we are really going to try street contacting more..its so hard with our small tracting area...but we are trying!
A little about the lessons we have this week.... We are helping to reactivate a Native American Family who is VERY poor but they are SO humble and AWESOME! we are also meeting with a Hawaiian who just moved to Vegas and is coming back to church (she cooked for us on sat and had a party with the YSA's!!! so fun!)....we are helping a girl go to the temple, meeting with waymond and teaching very simply about the atonement MORE, we are meeting with a family that lives down the road from us and hope fully setting the wife with a baptism date, we are teaching a wonderful Muslim woman, we are teaching a couple new investigators, teaching Debbie more and planning her baptism, we are helping someone cope with a divorce....attending a baptism for a young man we taught and passed of to the elders.... and tonight we are helping a 30 year old woman find strength in the gospel after just coming out of jail for the long abuse of prescription drugs! AND we are going to visit someone in a prison (maybe...got to get permission first). WOW! didn't know what was going to happen on a mission! YOU DEFINITELY need to be set apart as a missionary to have this calling.. .YOU NEED the lords help.
LOVE YOUUUUU!!!!!!!!!! KEEP BEING STRONG!"
Sister Jenna Julianne Sprouse!
