Email from Sister Shurtz Nov. 7th!

Dearest Family and Friends!

I am here in the Mesa AZ mission! I LOVE it! It is warm (slightly cool) and beautiful! I never pictured it being this beautiful! There are palm trees and gorgeous flourescent Pinkish Fusciaish ccolored flowers everywhere! It's like Hawaii only just a tad less green.. Haha anyway I love it.

My new compaion/trainer is...............Drum Roll Please............... Sister Stacey-Marie Hansen! Haha. She is so cute and super sweet. She was my exchanges comp the first day and she told me that she was hoping so bad that she would get to train me. When we found out in the meeting the next day that we were companions, She jumped me and wrapped me in a huge giant hug, Ha I almost fell over, and everyone was laughing. Sister Hansen has been out in the mission field 10 months now. She is very dedicated, and obedient. She is always working hard and is bold and willing to talk to and stop to pray and read a scripture with anyone and everyone! I need to be more like her in that way. Which is probably why I'm with her! :) I am working on it. She is a very happy person, and really tries hard not to complain.

Sister Hansen and I are on BIKES!! The first day I rode in a car, but the next day, the assistants to the president asked us for our car keys and told us that we were going to be on bikes from then on! I was thinking YES!!!!!! It took forever that day to coordinate with members and the zone leaders to find two bikes, two helmets and a lock! We did find some too. I am so blessed. I thought I would have to buy one for sure. The Lord provides for His missionaries. It has been fun to be on bikes! Especially in the winter. It is perfect weather right now, and it's so much fun being out and riding around, and it gives us more opportunity to stop and talk to people. Although were are having a really hard time figuring out timing and schedules right now. It's hard to know how much time to plan for to get places and our time in the mission feild is already cut short with being in the VC (Visitors Center) part of the day. It is really crazy, being  in the VC and proselyting. We are expected to cover the same amount of area in proselyting and tracting as full feild missionaries and we have the same responsibilities and everything as full feild missionaries, but we have to be at the VC for three to six hours each day too! It's really hard! Sister Hansen just got done being a full field missionary for 4 and a half months. And she has just been telling me over and over that being in the VC and doing proselyting is SOOO much harder. The Lord really trusts us with alot as VC missionaries. We have alot of extra responsibilties and paperwork and EXTRA MISSIONARY WORK! YAYYYY!!!! :) I don't know anything else so i'm doing great. Its fun being a missionary and serving people! Sister Hansen said that she has seen that the areas of the VC missionaries are blessed and consecrated by the Lord because He knows that we can't spend as much time in our areas as other missionaries can, so he prospers our areas and makes it so the work will go forth! :)

Monday is P-day. I can only write and email on P-days. With Christmas lights and all that fun craziness going on we sometimes don't get P-days and if we do get them then they are way shorter. Just an FYI. Christmas lights and concerts start Nov. 24 - Jan 1. I can't wait! I am in an apt. with just sis Hansen. I have my own closet and my own bathroom! our apt is cute and roomy! :) :) :)

Thank you all for your love and prayers! time is up!

LOVE YOU!

~SIster Shurtz