2021 begins

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a lovely holiday season. Ours was filled with service, study, and joy. Christmas morning, we were able to call home and video our families. I got to open presents with Mom and Dad, then Luke and Leah woke up took me down stares to find their hidden Christmas book, which was so fun. They found them right away and are the proud new owners of Fancy Nancy and The Fat Cat on the Mat. I am so excited for them to read them to me one day! After that, we met with our district and made snow flakes to put on friend's doors as a little surprise, then we met with all the missionaries in the stake or the surrounding area, which was about 20 or so other missionaries, and we had a wonderful devotional about the different names of Christ and what they mean to us. I'd have to say my favorite name He has is Brother. In the evening, we were able to get onto a Zoom call with  the entire mission and do fun games, activities, and give testimonies. It was so joy filled and focused on Christ. We wrote and delivered about 30 Christmas cards to friends in the area and members in the ward who have been so kind to us. We are so blessed and spoiled here.

For New years eve, we worked until nine, then opened a sparking cider, drank a glass, then we went to bed around 9:30 or 10:00. I know I know, we are some real party animals over here, haha. 

Last Monday, we got a text from the mission nurse. Apparently, an Elder in our district that we had met with on Christmas had Covid. We had all social distanced and been careful with masks, but just to be safe we were put under quarantine. We had to go get the Covid test to be sure we hadn't gotten it, but the other Sisters had the car and we couldn't switch because of the whole no contact thing. So, bright and early at 6:40 we headed out and took an hour walk to their apartment. The path took us through a lovely park. The sun was rising, and the air was crisp with fallen snow. No one else was on the trail, and it was so very peaceful and enjoyable. We were able to get the car, go to the testing sight, get the swab, and drove back to the other Sister's house since they needed the car later that day. We took the walk back and enjoyed our time outside in the fresh air. The test results came out a day later, and we tested negative! We were freed! The first thing we did as newly freed missionaries was take a car ride with the other Sisters to our favorite Soda Bar drive through and order some fun drinks! Best way to celebrate freedom, I think, haha.

Other then that things are pretty quiet right now. We are working hard and seeing miracles every day. As a mission, we have been doing a wonderful study. We have been reading through the Book of Mormon and highlighting four different things with four different colors; every-time Christ is named, the Characters of Christ, doctrine and principles, and every-time Christ speaks Himself or through his Prophets, such as when it says "thus saith the Lord". Now my Book of Mormon has a highlight on every page, often multiple highlights. I have loved doing this study, because I feel like I have drawn closer to my Savior and recognize His presence even more, both in scripture and in my own life. His influence is everywhere, and I am honored to be able to share His love and words with those that I meet everyday!

I am so excited to be serving at such a time as this!!!

 Sorry about  my lack of communication. The last few weeks have been so busy. So, Sister Tailleur went home this week. She is now safely back in Washington and doing well. The two other Sisters who were also serving in this ward, Sister Falemaka and Myers, went home. We won't be getting any new missionaries for the next two weeks, not until the end of the holidays, so it will just be Sister Blattman and I holding down the fort.

We were able to rake some leaves last week, and after raking one yard the women we were helping asked if we could rake her neighbors, and we were so happy for the work. 

On Thursday we had a little Zone conference with  the other missionaries in the area. We all made ornaments to give to our mission President and we were asked to have our faces on it. A little hot glue and vua la, I had my masterpiece to present. I will try to add a picture to the email, haha.

We have had truly beautiful sunrises and sunsets this week, so clear and vibrant. In the morning it almost looks like the sky is on fire. Below I attached some pictures of the sunset, which is often so pink and lush. I love this beautiful world the Lord has given us!

We have received many wonderful and loving Christmas cards and gifts that fill us with so much gratitude and love. We have been decorating and preparing, and we are so excited for Christmas! I will try my hardest to email about it next week! 

As my once companion said quite often "Trio life is the best life!" 

I am so grateful to be serving at such a time as this.

Thanksgiving 2020 style

 

Thanksgiving was so fun this year. A wonderful women in the ward brought us a huge dinner, with so many delicious plates, we were quickly stuffed. We are almost done with the leftovers, but still have enough to keep us fat and happy. 

We went on a hike during P Day to the Red Rocks Amphitheater, which has steps and a stage that are surrounded with the towering red rock cliffs. It wasn't too hard of a climb, and the views were well worth it. From the top of the stairs it felt like you could see all the way to Washington. We had a mini photoshoot up there and a lot of great laughs. 

I am grateful everyday for a chance to serve at such a time as this!

A few photos

 

An exciting morning

 So, here's a brief overview of my week. 

Tuesday morning, we woke up and our car was gone. A few panicked minutes later, we were in contact with the Elder over all the vehicles, and he was able to find it in a tow yard. We were told we didn't need a permit to park here, but I guess that wasn't quite true... 

Also, I'M IN ANOTHER TRIO! This is my 6th Trio. Sister DeMordaunt's companion, Sister Smith-Driggs, was able to go to  her originally assigned mission in Poland! So excited for her. We now have Sister DeMordaunt with us for the rest of the week. She is super sweet and enthusiastic. So grateful to have her with us. She is my 12th companion so far on the mission. I have only been in five normal two person companionship, but never any longer then one transfer, the shortest being three weeks. It's funny I've been in so many trios since they are supposed to be a rarity, but I guess I'm just special.

Also, it's been getting so chilly outside, we had to make a special stop to get some shaved ice. We have had a freezing wind blowing for the past week, and today was especially sunny, so these three Sisters walked into the shaved ice place with long sleeve, sweaters, and ready for an icy treat. We had a good laugh. 

Also, I got a little surprise in the mail. Boma made me a new Christmas scarf, and IT'S THE GRINCH!!! My comp and I had been making references to the old Grinch movie for weeks, so it seemed only fitting that  we now have matching scarfs for the movie!

I am so grateful for a chance to be serving the Lord!!!

11/9

 This week hasn't been too eventful. We have been having very nice sun rises and sunsets. The smoke has been clearing up and we can see the silhouette of the mountains. That has been nice. Oh, this week my companion and I had some fun. We attempted to make Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. I don't mean to brag, but they turned out preeeeeeety fantastic. It took almost an hour to fry up the pepper and veggies, toast the sandwich buns, and fry up the meet, but it was so very much worth it. Sadly they were so good that we weren't able to get a picture before devouring them. 

We were able to meet with the missionaries near by during the Zone conference, of course staying six feet away from each other, and that was fun being able to see so many missionaries we know. 

I got my General Conference book today! I'm so excited to reread through the wonderful talks given. They were so powerful and directed for this time of chaos and confusion. They brought so much peace and understanding, and I'm excited to study them even more in depth.

Colorado weather strikes again! This past week it has been pretty warm and a little breezy, but yesterday it got very windy, howling outside our window, and today the temp dropped drastically and we are now in a mini snow storm. I say mini because it looks like by tomorrow it should be getting warmer and melt the snow, then we have sunshine the rest of the week. Colorado weather certainly is interesting, haha. The picture below is a little glimpse of the weather. The entire sky is white and was dropping giant flakes of snow, but us being in the sunshine state you could still see the sun sticking out behind the clouds. 

I am so grateful for the chance to serve at such a time as this.

Halloween and voting

 Happy Halloween to you all!

This week has been great. Now that I'm an official adultish person, I had the chance to vote. Luckily mom sent me my ballot in the mail. We discovered a hot chocolate stand that had a variety of flavors. The one I got was english toffee and cinnamon. Soooooo good. In celebration of Halloween, I put up a little spider on the door. It was a party napkin, but it did the job, haha. For halloween to surprise the twins, I decided to rush and make a super quick halloween costume, so I took a straw, a piece of paper, and cut eye and mouth holes out of it. Once I did I got board and started doodling, and one mustache, one set of eyebrows, and one monocle later I realized I had accidentally made myself into the Pringles mascot. Haha, my family seemed to enjoy it. We also were able to celebrate Halloween after the day when we went to the store today and bought half off halloween candy. It is WAY more sugar then I need in my life right now, but when something's cheap it so much harder to resist! We have also been getting a lot of smoke. Below are some pictures of a sunrise we had. The dark gray mass in the background over the buildings that look kind of like a mountain was a giant plume of smoke stretching over the horizon going farther then we could see.  Luckily we aren't  in danger. We can sometimes smell smoke outside and we can see it on the horizon some days, but we are safe. 

On my mission I have truly found a love for the scriptures. While reading any other book, there is always an end. As humans, I feel like we don't like endings. They just don't feel right, for something to end, but it seems that scriptures simply never have an end. No matter how many times I read the Bible or Book of Mormon, there is always something new to learn, a new story to tell, a new word that sticks out. Even when you finish what was writing, you want to start over, because you know there will be more. I have really discovered this through daily study of immersing myself in the scriptures every day. Everyday I learn something new, and I am touched in such a powerful way. I feel I have heard these stories a million times before and that I've read these words so often, yet there is always more. It is truly a book without an end.

I am grateful everyday to have a chance to serve at such a time as this!!!