Changes

Hello! 

 Yep three months now! Transfers are coming up soon and I am worried out of my mind that Sister Hansen will be taken away from me! I don't know anything yet! There is a new english speaking sister coming in this transfer too so someone will have to train her. Anyway Interveiws with President are tomorrow and I am trying to think of what I want to talk to him about. Ha I really don't have any pressing matters of concern or worry. I am happy and I am working to be better. The area is going pretty good, and I have a fantastic companion! It's interesting because I feel so lucky and really just blessed more than anything. Yep... the Whites are leaving. ;) I seriously want to cry when I think of that. They have been a huge source of love, guidance, comfort and advice while here on the mission. I am sad to see them go. But they have served their mission honorably! There are going to be alot of changes soon. The Beckstrands our new VC director will be here soon! Lots of changes! Lots of FUN! I'm excited! I'm learning that change is good. That there is no progression when there is no change. It's like that quote I always say. "There's no comfort in a growing zone, and no growing in a comfort zone". So get out of the comfort zone and LOVE IT! it's like that talk by elder wirthlin- come what may and love it! What a good talk, it has become one of my favorites. It's one that I share alot with people because so many are going through so much pain and heartache. That talk reminds us that happiness is a choice. Anyway.. I'm excited for all this change and for the opportunity to become better. Elder Holland conotates that change is a form of repentance. He says that repentance isn't a long and foreboding process that is never ending and eternal- repentance can be instantaneous. We can be forgiven and repent as soon as we decide to change and stayed changed! It's that simple decision to change. That is repentance. Of course we still have to stay that way and live it the rest of our lives and do our best to right our wrongs but the actual repentance comes in the change. Decide to change and DO IT!

 I have been able to call someone from denmark and from Rwanda Africa! It was fun! I actually ended up emailing them though because even though they speak english the understanding is still not there.. they both seemed interested and excited though; so I guess i'll have to wait until they email back to see! The ratio of acceptance in the referalls that we receive is usually about 1 person in every 10 member referalls will accept to have missionaries. My goal is to get at least one confirmed a day or one Top Box a day from talking to someone in the VC.

Our Area is going pretty good. The poinsettia ward is booming, I feel like all of our work is there! We are constantly meeting people in that area. We are now in the process of teaching 5 different single men. Wow I tell ya, that is different. We are used to teaching only women. It seems like it's always the women who are interested and have soft and open hearts. We are having a hard time teaching the men though, because we can't go in without a member there and we have to have lessons in members homes. That is something that we are working on doing anyway but it's hard because you have to rely alot on the members to help you out, and they are often not very reliable. We are really trying though- plus to tell you the truth.. these men are all pretty flaky on sticking to planned appointments. blech! haha we are trying though.  We are also teaching a women named Tereza who is almost exactly like Lawanna, the one who has breast cancer that I tought in the MTC. I am having Lawanna write Tereza a letter and I really hope that they can stay in contact and help eachother through their cancer and their struggles. It's really cool. I know that the Lord puts certain people in our lives for a purpose. Lawanna helped me alot. But she will help Tereza out in her life more than I ever could because they can relate.

Beth came to CHURCH! WOOT i am so happy. We have one more lesson to teach her before she is through all the lessons. She came to the mission presidents fireside which was so good! We actually tricked her into going.. she is the most charitable person and will do anything for anyone, so we told her we needed a ride there, which we did... so she took us there and stayed :D It was for her. President had asked us all to bring families we were working with and the firside was just for them!

Harmony is still dead- it's like there is so much work in the other wards that we don't have time to focus on it.. ugh I don't know what to do. Well there's more to say but I have to go, I only have 5 min and I still have to write president! AH! ha oh and no I don't get to go to the temple on p-days.. :( only once a transfer. I get to stare at it everyday though! hahaha LOVE YOU ALL!

MWAH!

~sister shurtz

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!!

Dearest Family!!!!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!! Sure love you all! The new year has been so tiring! It has been good but busy and I haven't had any time in my area which is frustrating... The last two days have basically been p-day. Yesterday all of the VC sisters and senior couples went and hiked camelback mountain which was awesome!! I had so much fun doing that! Then we went to meetings and then to the VC which was so saddeningly slow! I guess i'll have to get used to that feeling again! BUT i am excited to call all of those referalls that I recieved! Today was our real pday so we went and did shopping and such. Sister hansen is feeling pretty sick! I'm lucky or rather blessed and have stayed pretty healthy! Did you get my package I sent home? I sent the Christmas stuff back because i will probably be moving soon and don't have any room in my bags as it is to store it! Thank you again for sending it all to me! It was so fun to have! I have been setting alot of goals with the new year, and we all know that i love to set goals so i probably set too many but I am really working on being just better in every way. Learning to consecrate my life to the Lord fully. In all things being extra obedient and zealous and passionate about the work instead of just doing it. Have you read the talk called "the fourth missionary"? I don't know if you can look it up online? It's really long but it is soooooo good! Also the susan fulcher case study rocks. You should look that one up if you can too. That is what we are trying to do with one of the wards in our area. Our Harmony ward is really struggling. But Sister Hansen and I are going to really try to spice things up and get the ball bouncing there!

Marcelo came to church again! Yay! I am sad though because I feel like he didn't have the greatest experience in preisthood class. they didn't even really have a lesson he said.. oh dear. i just want him to be baptized! hahah oh well, he'll get there. Romina got a calling- she is on the enrichment night relief society mtg committee. We have two new investigators! A young man named ethan and his uncle and possibly his dad too. they are all living together it is a total bachelor pad with both of the older ones divorced and ethan living with them. Hope that goes well. We have a lesson set up with them tomorrow. I hope all goes well with that! I still fall on my bike basically everyday! Ha i'm an embarrassment to mankind or maybe just to sister missionaries! ha oh well, i'm just grateful that I am on bikes and not in a car! It has been so nice here. In the 80's the past couple of days! New years day was fun!!! Sister Hansen and I got sent home early from the VC because it was so slow. We were so exhausted! We got to bed a little early that night- ha... which ironically early is 10:30 during Christmas lights at least. We set the alarm for 12:00 am so we could get up and dance around and make some noise for a few minutes and then go back to bed haha but we ended up missing the alarm somehow and woke up at 2:00 instead- ha we threw those snaps that you sent then ate five crackers with squeeze cheese on them and rung our bike bells and flushed the toilets at the same time hahaha. That was our silly New years Celebration! it was fun though! I like bearing my testimony in the VC this time of year because it's so easy to motivate people to make goals to come closer to Jesus Christ and learn more about him and become better people or share the gospel ect. it's fun. there is a fantastic quote in PMG about setting goals I don't want to write it all out but you should look it up if you get a chance. I really like it. It's in chapter 8 Use time wisely pg 146. I have been doing alot of studying on women in the scriptures. it's been really neat and enlightening. These awesome women are usually hooked with good men. It'd be a fun marraige study someday to look at their roles. But not now! hahah. This year I am going to work on being more on time, serving my companion more, knowing how the numbers and area books and progress records work, knowing my area, and understanding how to work better with the leadership of the wards! i am also going to work on being more bold and inviting everyone to learn more no matter where I am at. I need to not shrink away from what I know and apply better what I learn! well I need to get off now. Sorry I didn't read your email before I wrote this. I didn't have time. So hopefully any questions you had or comments can be addressed later!

~ Love you All Buckets and Bucket loads

Sister Shurtz

ps. the oranges and grapefruit are all coming off the trees this time of year so I'll be turning orange and pink with citris soon! yaya I love oranges!!! :)

AH it was SOOOOOOOO fun to see and talk to you all! That just made my day to see all my wonderful family! I crave talking to and seeing all of you and that filled that craving for a bit!! I just have the most beautiful family. You are all so wonderful! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me and to tell me a bit about what is going on in your lives! Thanks for the pics of some of the things that you got for Christmas! Looks like so much fun! I especially loved seeing my beautiful neices and handsome nephews and precious Lacy Jean! And to get the news of yet another one on the way!!! Whoo! I can't wait!... well I guess I'll have to haha. It was so fun to be able to speak to each of you. Except I didn't get to really talk to Felicia :( i'll have to just write her I guess!

Mom and Dad, I love you so stinkin much! So good to see your faces and hear your voices and see you cry, and remember that that's why I am such a cry baby too! haha ;) Totally all both of your fault! I love you though! I can't even begin to express the gratitude I feel in my heart for all that you have done, and continue to do for me!

The rest of my Christmas was... I almost want to say Magical.. but that word isn't right. I guess the only way to say it is... eh I don't know! Ha well anyway I was at the VC again from 5-10:30 like I am most nights during Christmas lights. But Christmas night was special. The spirit there was thick. I felt so warm inside and kept taking off layers,my coat, then my cardigan, then my scarf, etc. but I still felt so warm after.. It wasn't until I started hearing about all the miracles happening with all the sisters and with myself that I realised that warmness was the spirit. It was so special. It felt different than usual. So neat. Just so thick. I had told you while we were all skyping how we had broken the record a couple nights ago with 40 Top Boxes in one night.. well Christmas night we got 80! We doubled the record! It was crazy.

Jesus Christ was there that night. I know it.

So many people were there and just so open to having the missionaries come to their home to teach them. I couldn't believe what was happening. There was a family from Iran that accepted missionaries, and also from Iraq that I top boxed. There were many spanish that accepted missionaries, people from china even, although we sadly can't do much with them at this point.. It was so neat. I wish I could express the experience better. It was the best Christmas i've had.

Well our apartment has been a disaster full of candy and wrapping paper and presents and food and cards, etc so fun but so messy! Our p-days have been crazy and we haven't had time to do much cleaning or anything. It got to the point that I really couldn't feel the spirit there. We cleaned alot today and it feels so much better! :) Sister Hansen and I dropped by Marcelo's and Romina's home today. Marcelo was home from work which was good because he's usually gone. Sis H and I fasted for him yesterday. We don't know what to do with or for him. He is reading the Book of Mormon, he is praying. He is trying. He says he is just not feeling a connection with God. He is very good, I can tell that he really is trying, and he is that kind that is not wishy washy, and won't just join because he feels peer preasure- he wants to know for himself that it is true and then once he knows that, he will be totally committed. I believe that. I am just sad he isn't feeling that he is connecting with God and recieving answers to prayer. We have talked alot about answers to prayer and how we can recognize them and the spirit. We have talked about faith and how we must act in faith and then we will receive. I don't know how else to help him.. I think he needs to do something about his job and act in faith with it before anything will happen with him. *sigh* I wish I could just give him part of my testimony- ha this is hard! I love this work though. It's the best kind of work.

I fell on my bike again today. bleh I am so clumsy!!!! It's frustrating. I almost fell again right after too. aw well I don't know what to do with myself. When I fell, I fell onto a poky bush and gashed up my face and arm a bit- hhahaha oh dear...... what am I to do except laugh at myself, brush myself off and be on my merry little way! Well I better go!

thanks for all the prayers and support, and i'm going to selfishly ask you NOT to stop- I desperately need them!

LOVE YOU!!!!!

Sister Shurtz