Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Hi for a minute!

So transfers got moved to today instead of tomorrow and there was a line at the computer lab, so I only have just a minute. I may be able to come back later...

Well I am staying in NN2 and Sister Dickson is being transferred to Nag's Head, NC. That is the coveted area, so she is going to love it! Sister Anderson who has been out 3 months and serving in Gloucester will be coming to me! I would have never guessed we'd be companions or that she'd ever come to NN2. It will be so fun though!

If you haven't checked out the Saints Unified Voices online yet...DO IT! The fireside/concert was so awesome. There were a lot of referrals that come out of it. A lot! Not so many for us, but Norfolk and VA Beach got a ton. The choir is so fun and I love the music. They have a website...suvchoir.org. I really like a lot of their songs, but the only one I know the name of is Blessed Assurance.

Alright, I better be going. Sister Dickson has to be to the transfer van in 2 minutes and we have to eat! Yikes. Hopefully I'll be back. Love you all!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Laying on a Blanket in the Sun

Today is a great day! It is so warm! My body doesn't know what to think. I hope it transitions okay to summer. We layed out on a blanket for a couple of hours it was so nice.

The past few days we were on exchanges with Hampton. Sister Vawdrey came to work with me in NN2 and Sis. Dickson went to Hampton with Sis. Marvin. It was a fun exchange. I have been really lucky to have great companions here in VA. We met some great new investigators and had a lot of fun. It's good to change it up a little every once in awhile. With transfers next week, I am betting we are getting a change. There are a lot of great solid investigators here right now, but they are "long-term" for one reason or another. It would be great to be here longer to see them baptized, but I could use a change but the Lord knows where I need to be, so we'll see what happens.

It's booming in our ward. We have so many willing to meet with us that we teach about 9 lessons every week and that is us limiting our lessons to save time for investigators! There are some Sundays that we have so many at church it's like our ward suddenly grew. Now if we can just keep them consistent... We have this  lady who is 89 and she looks 60 and sounds 40 on the phone. Totally weirds us out. She always likes to feed us too. That's nice, but we have to plan her lessons around meal times because we know she'll feed us.

We had a Sister's Meeting this last Friday and it was so good. We had different trainings and it was really spiritually uplifting. A lot of the meetings lately we've been leaving really stressed out, but this one was great. Meetings are starting to get overwhelming though because we have so many. Another one tomorrow...haha. I've been on this training thing lately. Maybe because I'm old they think I'm smart. Or maybe because I talk a lot. Who knows. But this time it was on Having Dignity in Our Calling...in the areas of language, dress and grooming, and interactions with men we encounter in the mission. Some sisters I guess needed a bandaid ripped off, so I did it for them. It was fun.

Well I don't know really what else to share today. My mind is still laying out on the blanket in the sun.

Maybe I will share a few of my recent findings:
1) Alma 1:25, 31
2) Mosiah 27: 36-37
3) 2 Nephi 32: 3

Thursday, March 11, 2010

How Cool is My Mission! - March 10, 2010

Hello again on another Wednesday! The weather has been amazing the past 2 days and today it's really humid and trying to rain...but still warm. I really hope the warm is about to start. I am done wearing my big coat around with my black skirts and boots. I've heard the summers are pretty hot around here, so I might have to go thrift store shopping for some flowy summer skirts in a month or two. That could be fun :) So I have this way of running out of time on the computer, so here are some highlights of the week:

The 8 year old son Moshood of a less active member (who is coming back to church and totally awesome...and Haitian and making us Haitian food on Friday) fasted this last Sunday (we had a lesson about fasting) and he told me he was fasting that he could live with God again someday. He is so smart and I love teaching him! He thought up what he was fasting for all on his own!

Debbie (she lives in our complex actually) loves us a lot and always tell people that, haha! She is so cool. We met her one day when she was out working on the car with her husband. We talked to her for an hour that day and set up a return appt. It was really hard at first to get her home for the appointments, but we both liked her a lot, so we kept trying instead of dropping her. Over the last 3 weeks we've taught her consistently and she is soaking it all up. Her brother was mormon before he died and she never wanted to learn, but randomly when we came by she did. On the 3rd or 4th lesson it came out that she had been praying for someone to show her God and then we showed up. Her husband doesn't want to learn because of stuff that's happened to him and things he's had to do in war, but she is doing so well. We haven't even taught about Word of Wisdom and she's already trying to quit smoking and has noticed that she is more patient with her kids. She believes everything to be true and loves learning more and meeting with us. Last lesson she had a neighbor over who we taught as well and they are both loving everything and we are loving them!

Corey who is the WML daughter's boyfriend is so cool. We had a lesson with him Monday and he said that they were talking after church on Sunday about how he wants to become a member of the church. He's got a few stumbling blocks in the way to get over first, but he is always so excited and happy about everything church. They are going up to the temple the weekend after next and they both fasted on Sunday. I cannot wait for them to be sealed in the temple someday!

My first day in the NN2 ward we met this lady named Michelle. We loved her the second we met her, but up until this last Sunday it's been impossible to get a lesson with her, but like Debbie we knew we needed to keep trying. We had the best Plan of Salvation lesson with her and she said that she knew she would feel better after we came over. Her daughter committed suicide this last Nov and it's been hard on her. She grew up Catholic and only was taught that people who commit suicide are damned. It was really awesome to teach her about the Spirit World and etc. She said she likes this idea much better! Yeah, me too.

Well I hope you are all doing well. I love you! My mission is awesome. As I've seen these people develop faith in Jesus Christ and repent it makes me so happy. The changes people make in their lives because of the gospel is the greatest thing to be a part of. I loved NN1, but NN2 has really made a big impact on me. No, I haven't seen a baptism here yet, but I have seen people change their lives and find and recognize the happiness the gospel brings. How cool is my mission!

Love ya!
Sister Talbot

Oops!

Oops!

FHE activity with the Mannis'...drawing things we are grateful for. No, my drawing skills have not improved yet.

With the Godown's kids...member family

Just one of the rainy days...

Some of the finer things in VA...we are creating a collage of cars very similar to this.

Hello Again - email from March 3, 2010

Sounds like things are going well out in AZ. I hope you are enjoying the sunny weather for me. We got snow again this morning. WEIRD!!! We are ready for the sun. I wonder if I'll still be saying that when I am sweating up a storm. Haha

Everything is going well here. We had a mission conference last Friday and it was pretty good. They had the Area Mental Health Advisor come and talk to us. It was really informative. I didn't necessarily leave spiritually uplifted, but I learned good things though.
I also got to see Sister Case. She is doing really good and is still in Salem. It was good to see her. We have a Sister's Meeting next week, so I'll get to see her then too. I usually see Sis. Cox every Sunday too. It's fun to see everyone! It feels like we have meetings all the time...I had to train on Recognizing & Eliminating Pride and Casualness at our District Meeting yesterday. It went pretty good I think. After I train I always sit down and wonder what it was I just said and if that is what I was supposed to say. Haha!

We took Sis. Woodard, a less active sister, to the Family History Library yesterday for a lesson. That was fun! We helped her start her pedigree chart. She's going to start coming to the FHL a few times a month. She is Greek, so it'll be really awesome for the temple work to get done for her family.

We started teaching another soldier. His name is Nunez. He has a lot of questions about everything. He is going to test my teaching skills and my knowledge that's for sure. We're trying to help him not eat the whole cake in one bite. Nunez is way awesome though. He didn't really grow up with too much religion. His family is Catholic, but he's only been a few times and didn't like it. The soldiers went on a temple trip Saturday and he went as well as Vader. It was awesome they both went. The only thing missing was Sis. Dickson and I :( But there is always after the mission!

We are still teaching Yinhoo (from Burma/Thailand, 16). He is so funny. Bro. Waller the YM pres. took him to a youth dance and I guess he had a really good time. He didn't know anyone or how to dance, but still had fun and met a lot of people. He went to YM a few days before though and said it was boring.  Ashley Pauley who was baptized in December was a referral from a YM. We are teaching a YM too. Her name is Briana. She is soooo quiet. Her mom just got deployed, so she is here with her dad and 4 siblings. None of the other family has come to any lessons though. She understands everything we teach her and she is so smart.

We've had some really great younger couples move in recently and the ward is starting to grow. And we've had some less active members come back too. Now if we can just get some recent converts...

The work is good here. I have this feeling that I will be around this ward for a long time. Who knows if that's true or not, but Sis. Dickson's been here almost 6 months and could very well leave soon, so I'm preparing to stick around for a little while. At the end of this transfer Sis. Cox will have 9 months in NN1.

We have exchanges this weekend with Hampton. Sis. Dickson gets to go to Hampton (jealous!) and Sis. Vawdery is coming to me. It should be a good time. I've heard she's quiet. I'm not, so this should be fun :)

Well I love you all and hope everything is going so good for you. I hope you are all able to be a part of the work in your own way. I really do want to hear about the small (or big) missionary opportunities that you are having. Sounds like Ryan is having a blast being a member missionary!