Spirit of Thanksgiving

I cannot believe it's Thanksgiving this week!! We have Zone Conference on Thursday and members have signed up to feed us, so I have a feeling that we may be getting at least one Thanksgiving dinner. :) Transfers were pretty great.  Guess what? Sister Garner and I got a new car! 2013 Subaru! I guess the mission has lost 5 cars in the past two weeks. Yikes.  So they give the Sisters new cars ;) It's pretty great.  Sister Rice headed back up to South Calgary with Sister Marchant, which she is ecstatic about.  They will probably be together until Sister Marchant goes home in February and then Sister Rice will probably train. I actually had a dream last night that I found out that Sister Rice was training, haha, so it must be happening.  Sister Garner and I feel that we will be together for two transfers as well.  This transfer is only five weeks due to Christmas. I will cry if I get transferred a week before Christmas. I will not dwell on that right now.

This week we had another lesson with Jen.  We watched Finding Faith in Christ.  Jen felt the spirit very strong and she said that the movie helped Christ become more real to her.  We think that her husband is still a concern and she's going down to Arizona for about three weeks in December...so hopefully we will be able to meet a few more times before she leaves.  I pray that we are teaching towards her needs and that she will have the courage to act and talk to her husband about meeting with us or possibly setting a baptismal date.  I guess all we can do on our part is pray and seek for inspiration for how we can help her.  Everyone has their own agency, we just have to help them use their agency correctly.

We have gotten two referrals from mormon.org.  Both of them said that they never went online to request missionaries. :( But we may have the YSA elders accidentally tract into them. :) Yeah, sometimes you feel like a complete stalker as a missionary, but it's okay.  We are out here to save souls! Sister Garner told me about a shirt that she say its says, "Fishing is my mission". Hahaha, I think every missionary should have that shirt.

Sister Garner is so great! She's super sweet and she has such a big heart! Believe it or not, I am the tall one in the companionship. ;) She is 4' 11 1/2" from Mesa, Arizona.  She has eleven siblings, all are adopted.  Her father passed away...five or so years ago.  So, her mom has been rising twelve children plus she does foster care.  I told Sister Garner that her mom is a saint.  Sister Garner loves musicals :) yeah! She plays the violin and has played in the orchestra pit for several shows and has been in a few.  She is trying to get into a nursing program.  I told her she should come to Utah. :) She has actually been thinking about it.  Hmmm...have we had any grand adventures since she has been here? I think things have been relatively quiet, for now.

It was the primary program on Sunday. I realized that I haven't seen a primary program in about five years.  The children were adorable.  There was one little girl who was a little firecracker.  She just zoned in on her parents and sister and was going to town singing and doing hand gestures with the songs.  How they did the program is they asked all of the children questions about what they have been learning about this year and then they gave their answers.  It was really neat to hear about how one family is going to be sealed in the temple soon.  It's always a good reminder to see children and how pure their testimonies are.  Yeah! We have another Primary Program next Sunday.  I really hope that Jen will come to church and that she will bring her 8 year old daughter. :) I bet they will love it!

The longer I have been out the more I have come to realize how essential the gospel is in our lives.  Just by doing the small things every day we have such safety and protection.  We may not be prefect at somethings, but just as long as we keep trying God will help us.  Doing simple things as having Family Home Evening, family prayer and scripture study will build a foundation for our children.

I just love being a missionary! And I love the gospel! Life is pretty great! Love you!!!!
-Sister Douglass

Lucky Number 7 and half way‏

It's my seventh transfer (weird) I am staying in Lethbridge!!!! We were able to figure things out and I know that I am getting Sister Garner.  Out of all of the Sister Missionaries we were able to work with at the temple open house, Sister Garner and Sister Simpson are the only companionship we did not work around.  But I have heard that she is great and super sweet. :) I'm excited (but nervous) to take on this next step in the mission.  Oh yeah....I will reach my half way mark tomorrow. Yikes. I don't know how I feel about that....one foot in the grave. Ahem, moving on...

Things have been pretty great and windy.  We had a good lesson with Jen.  We are really trying to help her understand how the gospel will bless her family.  We read The Family Proclamation to the World with her and she really liked it.  We talked about how God's standards do not change.  Jen agreed to come to church! And she did!!! We know that she was pretty nervous about coming, but we think she had a good experience.  Pretty much all of the lessons and talks were on families. :) God's timing is perfect and He KNOWS us.  Hopefully this week we were be able to be more bold and help her resolve concerns that she has about setting a baptismal date.

In the hustle and bustle of the temple open house I think that I may have forgotten to mention: Chris from Okotoks got baptized!!! President gave Sister Rice and I permission to go down to Okotoks with Sister Hoyt and Sister Newby.  It was such a great experience.  Working at the temple open house in the morning and then going to a baptism that evening, what more could you ask for as a missionary? :) The spirit was very strong and Chris was just glowing.  I know that this will help him tremendously in his life.  Ah! It's so humbling to be able to see some fruits of your labors.

Our wards are really gearing up to help us out with missionary work, which is so exciting!!!! I know that as we do our part we will be able to continue to see miracles in this area.

The only sad thing that happened this week was no temple trip.  Ah I was slightly devastated, but I got over it.  A huge winter storm came in and the roads were pretty bad. (I think it dumped about 4-6 inches of snow). The ward temple trip was canceled and we called around to see if anyone could take us, but it was a no go.  Sister Rice and I agreed that there must be a reason for it and Heavenly Father was probably protecting us from something.  Hopefully Sister Garner and I will be able to set up and time to go down to the temple.  I miss it bunches.

Sorry this is kind of short-ish and pretty vague.  I'm a little distracted with transfers....but I know that Heavenly Father loves us and He has given us families so that we can learn and grow from each other.  I know that as we do the small things of reading from the scriptures, praying sincerely every day and attending church that we will receive revelation.  We may not know everything, but doing the basic things we will be able to know enough.

Love you!!!!
-Sister Douglass

Chinooks=tender mercy :)‏

I have decided that I want to be in Lethbridge for the winter.  They have these amazing weather patterns called Chinooks.  It is when a warm wind comes in for a few days and warms it up by about 20 degrees.  Sometimes the wind is not fun to deal with, but people in Lethbridge say that is how it is during the winter.  A cold storm will come in and then a Chinook comes in and warms it up for a few days.  It helps to break up winter.  Yes, it does get down to -30 and -40 but I think the Chinooks make it more bearable. :)

This week was pretty great.  On Halloween, instead of being in our apartments at 6 pm we were able to get together with all of the missionaries in the Zone and have a party!!! I attempted to dress up as "Partly cloudy with a chance of rain." :) Sister Brower's costume was probably the best.  She had an all white suit that was puffy - I was thinking a marshmallow, nope.  She laid on the ground and was spilled milk. hahahaha. I was laughing so hard.  It was super funny.  I shall have to get a picture from her.  A young man came and engaged in festivities with us.  He is a recent convert and just received his mission call! He's going to Monterrey Mexico.  He leaves in March - so his wait is going to be about as long as mine. :) I love talking to recent converts and hearing their stories.

We had a great lesson with a less active woman that we have been working with.  She has gone though a rough time and she is once again trying to quit smoking.  He boyfriend officially cut her off so she knows that she does no have the money to continue on with that addiction.  She had an incredible testimony and she has really been setting goals and trying to stay busy.  I love being able to see people change.  She realizes how much she relies on the Lord and how much He can help her.  She was having a really tough day on Sunday (that is the day she chose to quit). I pray that we will be able to continue to help her grow stronger and she is in this next part of her journey of returning to activity.

I love the ward members here.  They are soooo fantastic!!! They are so willing to help us out when ever we need it.  They love to feed us.  I just love feeling like I am a part of their family while I am away from mine and how close I have gotten with so many people.  It's the best.

Sunday was WONDERFUL!!! It was so nice to be back and to have a full Sunday service.  I loved testimony meeting.  Our recent convert, Andrea, got up and bore her testimony.  Did I mention before that public speaking scares her to death? She got up and bore a beautiful and powerful testimony about her conversion.  I feel that it touched everyone in the meeting.  Ah! It was just soooo great!!! Then the lesson in Relief Society was an answer to my prayer.  It was all about self worth.  There was a cute saying that the teacher handed out to everyone and I decided that I will keep it with me at all times with a picture of the Savior on the back.  It says, "I have amazing potential. I can make good choices. I am never alone. I can do hard things. I am beautiful inside and out. I am of great worth. He has a plan for me. I know who I am: a daughter of God." :) The lesson was what a lot of my companions and other people have told me. But for some reason it just clicked yesterday.  I have to realize that yes, I have weaknesses, but God doesn't focus on that.  I was called to come a serve a mission because of my strengths.  I will, with the Lord's help, will be able to over come my weaknesses.  I am probably not doing the lesson justice, but it really touched me and it has helped me to take a step forward in the mission.

Another blessing/miracle. We were able to set up an appointment with a part member family that we have been trying to get in contact with for...a least a month.  The wife is not a member and she has been coming out to church.  This Sunday she and her husband decided to stay for Sunday school. Woot!!! :) I feel that good things are going to happen.

We had a wonderful lesson with a member family yesterday.  We shared a Mormon Message about the Book of Mormon.  We were each bearing our testimony about the Book of Mormon and how we know that it is true.  The husband started to tell us about a friend he knows from school.  She's had a rough life and is having a hard time with her grandmother's death.  He told us that he really wants to invite her to hear the message of the Restoration and he wants her to know how the gospel will bless her, but he isn't sure how to ask her.  We promised him that as he turns to the Lord, He will help him to know what to say.  We are placed in people's lives for a reason.  He thanked us for bringing the spirit in more abundance in his home.  It was very sweet of him to say that. :) I hope that this is the right time for his friend to learn about the gospel.

Oh, so probably the highlight of this week will be....going to the temple!!!!! Sister Rice and I are going with one of the wards for their temple day.  Andrea is going to do baptisms for the dead for her grandmother and great grandmother.

Good things are going to continue to happen!! The days of miracles have not ceased!!! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve a mission. For everyone I have had a chance at meeting and helping them to strengthen their faith in Christ!
Love you all!!!!
-Sister Josie Douglass

XYZed :)‏

First off every weekend should either be General Conference or a Temple Dedication. :) Best weekend ever.  I know can tell you my very exciting news. (Last week we were sworn to secrecy). We had a training with Elder M. Russell Ballard!!!! Yeah!!! Let me start off with what happened last week.  We had a fantastic last P-day with all of the Sisters.  We were going to go to Banff, but President said no.  Which ended up being a good thing because it was snowy, yuckie weather that day.  Tuesday we were suppose to head back to our areas, but it was a blizzard outside.  President told us not to leave until noon.  Noon came and went and it still was snowing.  All of the other Sisters were able to go back to their area, but we called our District Leader and he told us that the missionaries in Lethbridge were not allowed to drive their cars because the roads were super bad.  So....we ended up not going down the Lethbridge and we may have done absolutely nothing on Tuesday.  We did drive to the mission office and delivered comment cards and then we went to the bookstore and got some CD's.  Sister Brower and I shoveled the driveway of the member she and Sister Sagers were living with.  It was pretty exciting.  We drove down to Lethbridge on Wednesday and all was well. :)

We had a lesson with our investigator, Jen.  We were told by the Elders who taught her that Jen has agreed to be baptized, but she doesn't want to set a date. She is worried that it will cause contention with her husband.  We had a good lesson with her.  We focused on praying and recognizing our answers to pray.  We also encouraged Jen to fast about baptism and if this is what Heavenly Father wants her to do.  Jen told us that she has recognized a difference since she has been praying every day! Yeah!!! Our goal for our next lesson with her is to see if her husband will allow us to meet with him too.

We also met with Andrea.  Ah, once again she is amazing!!! Her new goal for indexing is to reach 8000 by yesterday.  I forgot to ask her if she made it, but I think she was only 600 away on Friday.  Andrea has started doing family history and is going to do baptisms for her grandmother and great-grandmother!!! Ah!!! She told us that because we helped her to find the truth she now can bring it to her family.  Andrea is every missionaries dream!! I was just overcome with the spirit because truly that is what it is all about! Helping to bring people closer to Christ and linking families together.

Saturday we headed back up to the temple! Holla!!! It was so fun going back!! And it was great to see EVERY missionary in the mission.  Elder Ballard is incredible! (Just in case you didn't already know). His training mostly focused on what we need help with in our particular mission and how we can improve.  One missionary asked him about how we can keep a good attitude about a not-so-progressing area.  Elder Ballard told us to get a picture of the Savior.  Whenever we are having a hard day to pull the picture out and focus on the Savior's face.  Think about what He did for us and somehow things will be better.  Elder Ballard then left a blessing on the mission.  I wish I had my notebook here, but I don't. 

That evening we were able to watch the cultural celebration that the youth put on.  It was so great! You would have loved the Mountie number they did.  haha. The had the youth dressed up as Mounties and had cardboard horses.  They did a "horse" show, like one you would see at a Rodeo.  I did not realize how many apostles have come from Canada: N. Eldon Tanner, Huge B. Brown, and someone else that I cannot remember. :) It was really neat to be able to see how the church has grown in the Calgary area.  Calgary is just going to explode with missionary work!

We were able to attend all three dedicatory sessions of the temple.  President Monson was able to come!!!!! That was a miracle! President Monson was so funny during the cornerstone ceremony.  He was just himself and I told Sister Rice that it reminds me a lot of how Joseph Smith would interact with the children.  All of the talks were outstanding.  One of the assistants to the Matron, Sister Stonehocker, (she lives in Okotoks so I know her and her husband!!) talked about how often in life we practice and practice for something and eventually it is over. Such as a piano recital, practicing dentistry (Pres. Stonehocker was a dentist), ect. but one thing we will never stop practicing is preparing to go to the temple, to be temple worthy.  I loved it!! At the last session President Monson asked his daughter, Ann M. Dibb, to say a few words.  Sister Dibb accompanied her father in her mothers place.  She gave such a neat testimony of her parents love for each other.  Then she talked about how she had done research with one of her children about wheat (that's the theme for the Calgary temple). She discovered that the best wheat is the winter wheat, because of all of the hardships is has to overcome.  Isn't that neat!?! The spirit was so strong at each session and I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

I sure do love and appreciate everyone! Thank you for your prayers in my behalf and believing in me! I know that Heavenly Father is aware of each of us and loves us so much!!!!
-Sister Douglass

Bittersweet

We decided to take our p-day on Friday last week, not realizing that the library closes early.  That is why I am now emailing you today. :)

 

The Calgary Temple Open House has a first in the history of the church.  This temple open house has been the first one EVER to NEVER have protesters! Neat, eh? The last night of the open house we received 71 referrals!!! And they were able to reach the 100,000 mark that they have been hoping to get.  There have been so many miracles that have happened. I would love for someone to compile a book of everything that happened.  Oh, another neat-o thing. A lady who is in charge of the history of the Calgary Temple asked all of the sisters to do a little write up that they are going to put into the time capsule in the cornerstone.  Pretty nifty-wifty.

 

I'm just going to rattle off some stories from the open house:

- One of the first days three older nuns came to the open house and as soon as they walked into the temple one they turned to each other and said "He's here."

- A little boy put on the comment card that his favorite room was the Celestial Room because "it makes me feel like I'm in love with something." :)

- Sister Hoyt got to meet Adeth Kapp Perry (I'm not sure what her first name is, but she's a former, former Young Women's President) She's the one who wrote the YW theme!!!

- Sister England had an experience where a family came in and one of their children is disabled.  She can be noisy and the parents were so worried that she would be disruptive during the temple tour.  We had just had a massive influx of people come through, but as soon and this family arrived no one was there.  This family was able to get a private tour through the temple and the tour hosts who took them also has a child with a similar disablility.  It just goes to show that God is aware of all of us and takes care of all of the little details of our lives.

 

On a not so happy note.  There was a return sister missionary who came and helped out in the reception area and a few days later she suffered a massive stroke.  We were told that she was on life support and her family would be taking her off of it once her brother arrived at the hospital.  Her name is Ashley Johnson and she was 27 years old.  The final day of the open house Elder Melchin took her family through the temple.  Sister Hayes put together a poster for her family and we all signed it.  Her funeral is tomorrow (Tuesday).

 

The Sisters who are up in this area has had about 20 referrals!!! The family who we are living with went to an investigator lesson with the sisters.  They told us that the wife has had many spiritual experience.  She has had some near death experiences and when she went through the temple she started crying when she got to the Sealing Room.  When she had almost died she was in the Sealing Room and her ancestors told her that she needed to go back and do work for them. Ah!!! I just can't wait to see how many more incredible experiences are going to come because of the temple being in Calgary.

 

I know that whenever a temple is announced it's a big deal, but here's Calgary's story.  The spot of where the temple is located had been purchased by the church for at least 20-30 years.  They just used it as farm land and many of the Saints said that it would be a perfect spot for the temple.  When the Edmonton Temple was announced the saints knew that their chances of getting a temple in Calgary would be very slim.  Edmonton is three hours North and Cardston is 2.5 hours South.  That is why the Saints have just been so enthusiastic about the temple.  One thing that I have noticed during the open house is the unity that has come with it.  The stake boundaries have been erased and the Saints have come together to make this their temple.

 

We had a training yesterday with President and Sister Nicholas.  Most of it was about the announcement of the mission age being lowered.  President Nicholas told us that the announcement is about the work and not the workers.  The goal is to have a set of missionaries per unit in each mission.  He advised us to become reacquainted with the 12 week training program.  The missionaries who go into the MTC as English speaking (English being their first language) will know only be there for 2 weeks instead of 3.  I was a little overwhelmed at this information, but I am trying to remember 1) whom the Lord calls He qualifies and 2) This is His work. No Unhallowed hand can stop this work from going forward.

 

Another miracle!!! Do you remember me telling you about Chris from Okotoks? He got baptized on Saturday!!! Sister Hoyt and Sister Newby worked the morning shift with Sister Rice and I and we got permission to go down to Okotoks for the baptism! It was just the perfect way to end the day.  The beginning of the day started off by going on a private tour with Brother and Sister Palmer.  Brother Palmer is on the temple committee and has had a lot to do with the temple open house.  He is the ward mission leader up in Calgary and him and his wife LOVE the sisters. :) He took us out to each on Monday and they are feeding us lunch today.  Any who, we were able to take a tour and that just gave me the boost that I needed for the day.  Then we had a crazy, but great time on our shift.  We headed down to Okotoks for the baptism, which was an amazing experience as well.  Saturday, besides being a little sad that it was over, was a wonderful day.

 

I cannot believe it is already the end of October and the open house is over.  We will be heading back down to Lethbridge tomorrow. :( This will probably be the highlight of the mission for me!!

Happy Day! All is well! Back to work tomorrow!! Love you all lots and I will be emailing on Monday next week. :)

-Sister Douglass

... and it's WINTER again!

I now understand why Thanksgiving is in October up here.  (Although it is still hard to wrap my head around the fact that Thanksgiving is before Halloween).  The reason I say that is because there is at least 2-3 inches of snow on the ground. :) It started snowing yesterday and it has continued onto today.  I feel really bad for the volunteers who are helping out with parking.  I think it is suppose to warm up for a little bit, but welcome to Canada and this is how the weather is going to be for at least the next 6-7 months.

The rest of Conference was amazing! I just loved pretty much all of the talks.  It was also very nice to be able to listen to the Relief Society Broadcast.  I can't think of any talk in particular, but one theme that stood out to me is how we can become what God wants us to become.  It's such a testimony builder for me to hear that it truly is those simple building blocks of praying, reading our scriptures and attending church that helps us to be protected, to be happy and that is how we are able to find out what we can become.  Also being able to understand the Atonement and how we can be cleansed from our sins.

Thanksgiving was a wee bit crazy at the temple.  We worked the morning shift and there was a continual stream of people coming in.  I think by the end of the day they were touring 1000 people per/hour and we are use to doing 600 people per/hour.  The sisters who worked the evening shift were suppose to get off at 5 but they ended up working until 6:30.  What better Thanksgiving event can you think of doing than going to the temple open house.  I also think about 1000 people who did not have reservations just showed up.  Which is pretty great.  I loved Elder Ballard's talk about the honey bee because that is how I feel sometimes.  I love working at the temple, but I feel that I play such an insignificant role.  Sister Nicholas told us that she was helping to type up the comment cards and there were several that mentioned that the movie at the beginning of the tour really set the mood for the temple and touched their life. So, my little 1/12 of a teaspoon may be small, but it does make a difference. ;)

Oh funny story from the temple open house.  A tour host told me that a man in his tour group commented on how he loved how the theme of the temple was unique to Alberta such as the wheat and the wildrose and the oxen for the Calgary Stampede. :) Hahahaha, it was super funny.

We decided since our schedules were a little skewed for Thanksgiving dinner on Monday all of the sisters would go out to eat.  It was a lot of fun to hang out and get to know the sister better.  Breaking news- Sister Hoyt and Sister Sagers got their ears pierced.  I know that probably doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but...for those two sisters...it is. :) Hehe. I'm going to be so sad to not see all of the sisters every day.  But, I have a feeling with the mission age being lowered that our mission will probably stay at 20 sisters. yeah!!!

God loves us! He wants us to be happy! Families can be together forever! Turn to the Lord in EVERY thought! Doubt not! Fear not!!

What A Week!!!

My oh my I seriously don't know where to begin!!! My mind is just BLOWN by the announcement of the age for missionaries being changed.  But I will try to start from the beginning of the week.

 

Actually, the whole temple open house as just kind of merged into one continuous day, but it's SOOOOO GREAT!!!! The video presentation rooms look amazing!!! I will have to take a picture of and send them soon (haha, I know I've been saying that forever, but up here our p-days are even shorter.) Any who, we started off by doing tours for the contractors and VIP's.  It was a little intimated a first knowing that these are important people going through the temple.  But, hey, I'm not Canadian so...I don't really know who they are. I started a video for some MLA's and Elder Walker (he's on the temple committee...he may be a Seventy...not sure).  After the video was over Elder Walker stopped me and told me that I did the presentation just as he had asked. :) Oh my I was so nervous the first few video presentations I did, but like most things, it takes a few times and then you are able to get into the hang of it.  It's been amazing to hear some of the stories of people who have come through the temple open house.  I think we have had one person per day just ask how they can become members of the church. :) With the temple not quite being finished (this was a week ago)  we have heard stories of how they asked volunteers.  100 showed up the first day and then it just kept multiplying and the last day 1000 people showed up to help lay sod and clean up in the temple!!! The landscapers referred to the volunteers as God's Army.  We are told every day that we are truely God's Army and they refer to this temple as the Volunteer's Temple. :) Oh and amazing thing happened (a first in the church) there were NO protester for the open house.  A man in charge asked if the message could be sent to President Monson and say "That's just the Canadian way." ;)

 

 

Oh there have just been so many miracles with this temple I wish I could remember them all.  There was one man that Sister Hoyt and Sister Newby talked to that was just walking by the church and he asked if he could go inside the church.  I don't have the full story, but they just started to talk to him and teach him and Elder Melchin came over and talked to him too.  His name is Carl and he lives in Edmonton.  He had wanted to be taught by the missionaries before and he set up an appointment.  The missionaries were late and after waiting for a hour Carl drove to the church to find them playing basketball.  He was furious and never wanted to be taught again.  I don't know how he ended up in Calgary during the temple open house (God's timing is perfect) but he wants to be baptized and he came yesterday to volunteer for two shifts. :)

 

We, the Sisters, were able to have a tour of the temple.  It is unbelievably beautiful.  A man told us that there are LED lights in the stain glass so it glows!!! There is a lot of stain glass in this temple and the theme for the temple is wheat.  There is also a lot of the Alberta Wildrose theme in it too, especially the Brides Room.  When we went on our first tour going into the Celestial Room was amazing.  It gave me the spiritual reboost that I needed.  I just love how the Celestial Room just feels like home.  Then when we went into the Sealing Room our tour guide had us sit across from our companion, which was super neat.  It has been so much fun getting to know all of the Sisters in the mission and being able to work with them every day.

 

We gather up the comment cards at the end of the day and it's incredible to read what people write.  Someone put a very short message down, but it speaks volumes, its says "Amazingly beautiful- why do you people hide?" There have been many people of different faiths that have gone through and someone put "I may not share the same beliefs as you, but my God was glorified today." It is so interesting to see peoples demeanor change from when they enter the church and when they come back after the temple.  You can tell that people are being touched by the spirit.  I can just tell that missionary work is just going to explode after this.

 

We had dinner a Brother and Sister Palmer and they invited President and Sister Nicholas to attend too.  Brother Palmer is on the temple committee (here in Calgary).  Sister Palmer wants to have a "Sisters Conference" with us! yeah!!! Party!!!! Hehe :) Brother Palmer serviced his mission in Ontario and Elder Ballard was his mission President!! Oh and Elder Ballard is going to be coming to the dedication along with President Monson (if he's health is good. Please pray for President Monson to be able to attend the Calgary Temple Dedication). We had so much fun getting to know everyone. Sister Brower is a rock star.  She is an incredible piano player and has an amazing voice.  So, we sat around the piano and sang songs.  It was a great bonding moment with all of the sisters.  Also, the Palmers have a movie theater in the house.  Stadium seating and everything ;). It's pretty fantastic.

 

We called Andrea to see how she is doing.  She is beyond amazing.  Andrea is doing things that before she joined the church she never thought she could do.  She's volunteering twice a week at a senior center and is baby sitting three times a week.  She has indexed at least 4000 names.  She is going to the ward to their ward temple night and is going to help out cook and watch children and maybe go and do baptisms.  She's so excited to watch General Conference as a member and LOVED the RS Broadcast.  She misses us be knows that we will be back soon.  Ah, she is just so great!!!!

 

Okay I will add more stories about the temple as they come to me - now onto the first session of Conference.

 

WHAT!?!?!?! How amazing is it that the missionary age is now 18 for young men and 19 for young women!!?!?!?! That means I will probably be training a 19 year old!!!! Crazy!!!! We feel that this means something big is just around the corner!!!! Sister Hoyt was super duper excited about the announcement of the Tuscan, Arizona temple. :) Ah, I still can believe it!!!! So amazing!!! I just love conference.  We had to work the evening shift last Saturday, so I have not seen the RS Broadcast yet, I think we are planning on watching it tomorrow evening.

 

I love conference (for the umpteenth time). I have been praying about a question/something I've been struggling with and BAM!! It was answered in the first session.  I love how bold the Brethren are.  It's a good example for be to not be afraid to open my mouth and to share the gospel.  Oh, and if you have a question, ask a missionary. ;) hehe General Conference is right up there with Christmas as a missionary. :) And being able to spend it with all of the other Sisters is just the bomb.