Another week in Virginia

Gooooood Afternoon! :) 

Before I begin telling you about my week, shout out to the best human on the face of this planet (my sister) for being born today x amount of years ago :) I love you! 

Alright, so Monday was awesome :) we didn't do a THING and it was beautiful :) 

• Aside from the norm like emails, laundry, groceries, and writing a couple letters. 

• In the evening we went to dinner with a member and checked on potentials. 

• Meanwhile there was a massive storm occurring! Virginia + rain + thunder = the best summer storms I've ever seen! That's why God sent me here ;) to be able to enjoy those things :) It also makes up for the lack of sky over here. I miss my western night time sky. But it's fine :) It could be worse!! 

Tuesday was quite busy! 

• The morning began with district meeting which went super well; always does :)

• Lunch followed,

• Then we went to visit a sister in our ward who just got hip surgery! She is bedridden for a solid 2 weeks! I think I'd go insane. Actually, I know I'd go insane. She can hardly sit up, too so she has to lay down most of the time! I know. Poor thing right? She just ran way too much and busted her hip. She would run like 12 miles a day, and she always ran marathons. Not anymore! So we shared a message and kept her company for an hour :) After that we made brownies and a thank you card for the member who took us to the temple and lunch a couple weeks ago! 

• And then it was time for a lesson on preparing for the temple with a recent convert :) 

• when that was over, we went to dinner with A! :) She is DARLING! I love her so much! We learned that members of our ward have been inviting her to activities and such so that made us happy :) I'm telling you. Serving in a singles ward is one of the best things that's ever happened to me on my mission. These people are stellar. 

• The rest of the night we spent checking on potentials. 

On Wednesday we studied all morning, which was so good! 

• Sister Jones and I received a lot of inspiration as to how we can become better teachers and missionaries in general. I love the spirit :) 

• When that was over we did a little bit of cleaning up in the area book, and then we did some serious DEEP cleaning in our apartment. I kid you not we cleaned everything from the baseboards to the corners of the ceiling and everything in between. For like... 4 hours. With music (the uplifting, spiritual kind) blasting through the apartment. I was in love :) 

• Oh also, mom guess what? We've totally had reoccurring black mold throughout our apartment since I've been here. And everyone that's lived here for the past year has had health problems, but as soon as they're transferred they get better. But don't worry!! We called the maintenance guy for the 47th (that's a legitimate number) time and he came to paint over it :) hahah ohhhh the apartment :) There have been so many things about this apartment that have fallen apart and I have totally forgotten to mention them throughout the past 3 months!! I'll list some for you :) 

| ADVENTURES IN THE APARTMENT|
1. Our light switch in the bathroom didn't work, nor did the outlet for about 3 weeks, so we plugged a lamp in on the outside wall and stuck it in the bathroom :)
2. The carpet was disgusting and our 2 vacuums didn't work. So we got a new one about 2 months in and it's slightly better!
3. The sisters bathroom had black mold growing on their ceiling, so the maintenance guy took out the wall and put a new one in.
4. The black mold is back.
5. We have black mold inside our shower, but no worries. The instructions from our maintenance friend were to throw bleach on it and let it sit. He then told us it would come back though...
6. The air conditioning unit in the sister's room was leaking, so their carpet was wet and their room smelled like wet dog. They've been sleeping in the living room for 2 weeks :)

7. When we want a drink of water, we have to let it sit for 5 minutes so it isn't so foggy

Basically it's been an adventure!! And despite the grossness of the apartment, it's not necessarily awful. It's livable... For the most part... And we find joy in these things because it creates memories that we can laugh at later :) In fact, we laugh as they occur because it's hilariously ridiculous :) Nonetheless, we truly are grateful to have a roof over our heads, food in the kitchen, and a bed to sleep in :) Also, after the deep clean it was better :) 

• Dinner was with a member at a Peruvian restaurant which was pretty good! 

• Then we met another member at the church and went to check on potentials. It was a pretty quiet night when it came to potentials, but when it comes to the member we had with us, it was the opposite! :) haha which was perfect because we studied listening earlier in the day, which is exactly what she needed us to do :) it was fun! :)

• we were exhausted by the end of the night and slept super good :) 

Thursday morning I was not feeling well at all, 

• so after studies I took a nap for half an hour and that helped a little bit. 

• We then had to go to the mission office to take in our driving log. Elder Lowe is in charge of everything when it comes to the mission cars, and he asked if we wanted to see our driving record from the Tiwi! This thing is high tech. Elder Lowe can see when and where our car is at all times, including how long the car sits in one place! He can see where on the road we make a violation (according to the Tiwi), and the route in which we take wherever we go. If we ever lose our car we can just call elder Lowe and he can look it up :) too cool! My driving record was spotless so that was good :) 

• We did some area book mapping for a while and then went to dinner with a member! I learned so much from her while we shared a message on the spirit. I learn so much from everyone that we teach! 

• Our evening finished off with T! She is doing well :) I brought the Book of Mormon I made in college (where I wrote questions of the soul in the front and found the answers and marked/tabbed them) to show her how beneficial the book is in our lives today. She started going down the list of questions, answering them according to her knowledge, and then when she got to the question, "Does my infant need to be baptized?" She said, "oh I know this one! Absolutely!!" We just smiled and explained that we don't believe that's true. So we flipped to the answer in the Book of Mormon; Moroni 8:8-12 and even a couple verses after that, where it explains that baptism is for sinners. Repentance and baptism are for those who are accountable for their own sins, not for Adams transgression. It goes on to teach that little children are whole and not capable of committing sin, so if thy die before the age of accountability (8 yrs.) then they are golden :) 

• When we got home we found a note from the maintenance guy saying we had gotten our faucet replaced in our kitchen? Later the sisters explained that it started to gush out water and the kitchen flooded! hahaha remember everyone, adventures in the Aspen ;) 

On Friday I woke up feeling super sick, and felt like I was going to throw up all day. 

• Luckily it was weekly planning so we didn't have to go anywhere all afternoon! 

• In the evening we went to dinner with a member, but that made me more sick so we went home after so I could sleep for half an hour before we had a lesson. The enabling power of the atonement is so real. I had a prayer in my heart that I would be able to sleep off whatever bug I had, within that power nap, so that we could go teach our new investigators the message of the restored gospel! When I woke up I felt much better! 

• I could feel the Lords support as we went about the rest of that night, which was such a blessing because that lesson was so great!! When we got to their house, Dre opened the door and said with a big grin, "Oh hey, ya'll did come!!" :) he went and gathered his brother and friend (now a new investigator) to hear the message we had to share :) We asked if they had read from the Book of Mormon yet and Dre said, "Ya! I figured you gave me this for a reason, so I read a couple verses". Um, yeah! We totally did give you that for a reason! They all wanted us to text them a scripture every day, and then asked us to come back on Sunday to hear more. Two. Days. Later. 

• What if I stayed home that night?! What if I hadn't accessed the enabling power of the Atonement and just slept for the rest of the night?? Oh how good is Heavenly Father??! :) His hand is absolutely in our lives every single moment of every single day. I LOVE being a missionary :) Sister Jones was tickled :) It was so fun to experience that with her; she rocked it! She is doing so well :) 

• Sister Williams is one of the sisters we live with, and she woke up sick Saturday morning. It's gotta be the mold or something that's making us sick! Anyway, she stayed home all day so sister Jones and I took turns going on splits with Sister Kennedy, Sister William's companion, to cover the lessons they had set up. It was a good switch in routine, and gave Sister Jones more opportunities to teach! So that was awesome! :) I also think Heavenly Father needed us to be with them because all of our appointments for that day canceled. 

• I went out with her for the night and we went to dinner with a member, who lives with her brother, who has 4 kids ages 1, 5, 6, and 8 :) I wish we got our dinner conversation on video because we were crying laughing the whole time! 

Benson is the 5 year old, and he started talking about how he was married. He said he was 31 and his wife was 29. When asked what he liked about her, he said, "her cute little face!" :) hahah then we talked about ways we could be righteous. I asked if he was nice to his siblings and with the most straight face he said, "Yeah. But sometimes I want them dead". Everything that came out of this kids mouth was so funny because he's so little and we kept thinking, "Where did you come up with this?!" By the end of the night we were serenaded by little Benson singing "Let it Go". But not like a normal 5 year old would sing it; this kid had the riffs and level changes and everything! It was sooo cute :)

AND dinner itself was super good because we made our own pizzas, watermelon was the side (including yellow watermelon!), and for dessert we had a pazookie :) For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven with vanilla ice cream on top. It's life-changing :) 

• After dinner we picked up a member and went to a lesson! But he wasn't home, 

• so we checked on a few others and they weren't home either! 

• Eventually it was time to head home, and then Sister Kennedy and I had a really cool spiritual experience. Earlier in the day we had taught N, one of her investigators. We taught about prayer and fasting. N is SO close to baptism but is, for lack of a better word, bipolar when it comes to commitment. We called him to tell him that he had a ride to church, but suddenly he didn't want to go anymore. Sister Kennedy, acting on the spirit, told him to kneel down, say a prayer, and open the Book of Mormon to a random scripture to see if it answers his question- should I go to church tomorrow? Bold, right? But even while she invited him to do that, I felt the spirit and knew that it wasn't her idea; it was Gods. He called us back to tell us the scripture he landed on- Alma 21:6 which talks about assembling ourselves together to worship God, and that its a righteous thing to do. If that's not an answer then I don't know what is! 

He still chose not to come, but we knew God had followed through and it was up to Nick to make the decision. Sometimes agency is frustrating haha Nonetheless, it was a good day :)

On Sunday we went to church, which is always good :) 

• The Relief Society- a women's organization, that happens to be the biggest one in the world, that teaches us how to become better wives, mothers, and daughters of God. As well as focusing helping on those in need- lesson was on happiness! It was such a good lesson!! I loved it :) 

• The rest of the day our appointments fell through so we just checked on potentials with a member all night! 

Sometimes the weeks are amazing, other times they are just alright, but that's life right? :)

 I'm grateful to be here!! I love my mission and my Father in Heaven :) I'm grateful for the love, support, emails, letters, pictures, and prayers on my behalf! My heart is continuously full :) 

Happy birthday to Erica, again :) And happy birthday to my Mama on Friday! :) I love you!! 

Love,
Sister Chandler

6 Down and 12 To Go

Hello everyone! :)

My dad has an app that counts down the days until I get home (we're best friends) and he will occasionally update me on how many days are left. Today you won't need to update me, dad because I am very aware that I only have 367 days left as of today!! Bittersweet :)

I feel so blessed to be in a mission where so many historical sights are right around the corner. DC was so fun! We walked for a total of about 4 hours; we didn't sit for even a second, looking at all the monuments and memorials. 

'Twas a bit windy, but so warm! It wasn't even humid. 

Blessing :) 

We had no idea where we were most of the time, but by following maps and reading directions, we found a metro and hopped on right on time to make it back to our dinner appointment :) sister Morris had a migraine and then got sick to her stomach so bad that she was lying on the bathroom floor at the members home :( poor girl was so sick :( so we canceled our appointments for the night and went home. 

Thankfully she woke up on Tuesday feeling much much better! 

Prayer works :) 

After studies we went to Zone Training where we talked about families and discussed how to teach that topic. It was good :) I really love my zone. 

Pictures from the metro activity last week:

One of my zone leaders shared such a precious miracle from the metro contacting that I HAVE to share. It's too good not to. 

He saw a girl running up and down the street, so he started running with her asking if he could share a quick video with her. She frantically said she lost her phone and didn't have time for him, so he just gave her a card and continued contacting. A couple hours later she came back and stuck her phone in his face. She said, "do you know what this is??" He shook his head like umm no... She said, "it's an answer to my prayer. The minute after I saw you I felt impressed to say a prayer to find my phone, then I felt impressed to go to the CVS store where I was earlier this morning. As soon as I walked in it was right there sitting on the shelf in front of my eyes. What was that video you wanted to show me?" So he showed her and when it was over he looked up and she was crying. She embraced him saying, "you have no idea how much I needed that right now. I know that God needs me to meet you. Thank you" then she promised to let the missionaries in and listen to their message because she doesn't live in the area. SO COOL!!

Miracles happen when we show Heavenly Father we are serious :) 

After zone training we had lunch and sister Morris started packing up. We then went to dinner with a recent convert, where he secretly ordered sister Morris a birthday dessert because she turns the big 20 today! Of course I helped her eat it; it's my favorite! :) 

And THEN we went to check on people with a member which always brings miracles. We went to see F, a less active whom we haven't seen for the whole transfer because he is never home or available. But he was that night!! So we talked with him and shared the video. I felt impressed to ask if he prays; he doesn't. We talked about the importance of prayer and how it will bless his life. He committed to praying every night, and before we left we asked if we could leave him with a prayer. He pointed at me and said, "you say it?" So I pointed back at him and said, "you say it?? :)" so he did!! What?!? F prayed. In Spanish even :) the spirit was definitely present. I love being a missionary :) 

Also, we got transfer calls that night and Sister Morris is STAYING!!! What!?!? Surprise!! :) This is definitely rare for a couple reasons -->

1) she hasn't had a companion for more than one transfer since she's been on her mission
2) she's going to end up being here for 6 months
3) president Riggs doesn't keep missionaries in singles wards for more than 3 transfers; this is her 4th

Basically Heavenly Father must have big things planned for us, so we are going to work so hard! 

We are SO EXCITED!!! :))) The sisters we live with are also staying which is ALSO a surprise/miracle!! Dear goodness, we were so happy :) 

Breakfast on Wednesday was with a member, and then we had a lesson with a recent convert. After that a different member took us out to a late lunch (like 4pm) at a super good pizza place :) Then he told us about a really yummy place called "nice cream" because it's ice cream made with nitrogen! So good. 

Because we thought it would be sister Morris' last night here, we had a ton of member lessons set up for the night! Whoops :) oh well! 'Twasnt a bad thing! :) 

Nothing exciting happened on Thursday. We went to AFAC for an hour; it's always nice to wear pants :) oh. Except for the fact that I accidentally parked in the loading zone and got a minor ticket! 

Whoops! We were driving home and sister Morris goes, "What's that?".... Oh well. Could have been worse :) After dinner we taught a couple lessons with a member present so that was good! 

Friday was weekly planning which went well! New transfer = new goals :) we're pumped :)
We had a member come out with us all night and literally zero of the addresses we had existed. So weird. They were people that have met with the sisters before but some part of every address was incorrect. Oh well! It was still fun :) 

Saturday morning was the ward 5k!! :) The weather was GORGEOUS and so perfect for it! But the investigator that wanted to run it couldn't get work off, but don't you worry! I ran 3 miles in the morning anyway :) So I just helped flip pancakes for the breakfast :) it was so much fun!! I am officially a pro at flipping golden Bisquick pancakes :) 

Afterward we went home for studies and then to a lesson that fell through. It's okay; it happens! We then had a lesson with our recent convert on keeping the Sabbath day holy. I apologize for the unintentional neglect I've had in telling you his story!! It's too cool! 

Basically, long story short, he was hard core atheist and was dating a member. She introduced the Book of Mormon to him and he hated it! He didn't enjoy a single part of that book. He knew there wasn't a God, and he even read the Book of Mormon a second time; still hated it. BUT he went to church with his girlfriend because he liked her and church wasn't going to change his mind anyway. But his heart softened. Then they broke up, but he started investigating because president Riggs spoke at stake conference and talked about real intent :) He decided he did want to know if there really was a God, so he read the Book of Mormon for the third time and prayed about it. With real intent; sincerely desiring to know, and intending to act on the answer God gave him. 

He felt something :)

That something, my friends, is called the spirit of truth :) 

The Holy Ghost bearing witness that there indeed IS a God, that He indeed DOES love you, and that He indeed DOES have a true church on the earth, restored to its fullness. K only experienced this feeling because he sincerely sought for it. He really looked, he read the Book of Mormon, he prayed, and he received an answer. I know God is there and that He does answer our prayers :) 

The rest of the night we spent with a member because she fed us and gave us a TON of names of people that are less active. We learned a lot and received a lot of inspiration on how we can best hasten the work this transfer :) 

On Sunday we got a new bishopric and we are so excited! They're all so young! One of the counsellors is in his early 20's and has only been married for 2 years. The bishop is probably bishop Lister's age, as is his other counsellor. Our old bishopric didn't really work with us; in fact the missionaries weren't invited to PEC or other meetings we generally go to, and we only had ward council once a month. SO I'm thrilled to start working with this new bishopric and get the ball rolling :) They seem very missionary minded! 

The rest of church was good. Fasting was fun this week; president Eyring's talk shed a new light on fast offerings for sister Morris and I :) 

When we got out of a lesson with a less active that night, we saw that we had a couple missed calls and a voicemail. When we checked it, a man from San Diego told us about his friend who just moved out here. He said she is in our area, single (so she's in our ward), and he told us to go teach her :) I guess she asked him if non members could go to church (absolutely!!) so he jumped on finding the closest ward :) Miracles!! :) I am so thankful for a loving God :) 

Because it's a new transfer, we can go to DC again! It's also the peek for the cherry blossoms, and sister Morris' birthday, so we are going today with the sisters we live with :) The weather is gorgeous and I am humbly happy :) 

The Lord is taking such good care of me. 

Thank you for your prayers and emails! I do feel the constant love and support from all the way over there and I am grateful :) 

Have a most wonderful week!! :) 

Sister Chandler

Week 23: Exhausted, Happy Servants of the Lord

Um. Hi :)

I hope everyone had a good week! Mine was exhausting. Sister Morris and I hit a wall of exhaustion this week, but don't you worry, we kept working :)

Monday was a typical Pday. The evening was good though because we set up an appointment with the man in the elevator who wanted us to teach him, and we also set up an appointment with a former investigator. 

District meeting was on Tuesday- it was zone training so the zone leaders taught the whole time. We learned that on March 28th a new Mormon message called, "Because He Lives" will be coming out; it's supposedly really good, so we are excited to see and share it!! We were also informed that we will not meet together as a zone anymore. Sad day :/ I guess we are one of the few missions who still do that, so from now on we will meet with only our district. Which isn't a bad thing! It's just not AS fun :) 

Later in the evening we had dinner with a member, a lesson with a recent convert, and a lesson with an investigator named A! We watched the Joseph smith video and the spirit was really strong! I love that even after we receive one witness that the church is true, we can continue to be reminded by the power of the Holy Ghost :) 

In the middle of the night I woke up to sister Morris praying out loud saying, "dear Heavenly..." And then she looked at me, and continued to pray but in her head. I'm not sure if she was awake or asleep... hahah you know you're a missionary when... ;) 

Wednesday was our last day to Facebook! I didn't post anything though. We went to a place called A.F.A.C (Arlington food assistance center) where we helped organize food on shelves for families that have low income, and can't afford a lot of food, come to get a few items they may be in need of. It was so fun! We go once a week and everyone there is so kind :) we even got T-Shirts! 

In the evening we had dinner with a member and checked on some formers. Funny story. One of the former investigators was named D. We happened to be in the neighborhood so we thought we would just check on him. When the door opened I asked if D was there, and he was... But not the same D described in our area book! What are the odds that a different D would live there?! I didn't feel good about asking to teach him, so we just gave him a Mormon.org card and explained what was on the website. We then cleared our iPads because we would be getting new ones the next day.

When Thursday rolled around we did indeed get new iPads. They look the same, but they're a little better! Apple has been so kind to actually give us iPads with the restrictions and apps and programs that we need as missionaries! The church is working with Apple! Too cool :)

 
In the afternoon we had lunch with victor; the guy from the elevator. We taught him the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon; he wants to meet with us again so we have an appointment for next Thursday :) In the evening we had a member lesson, dinner with a member, and we checked up on a recent convert who hasn't been able to come to church because of her job, but we talked to her and she is looking for a new one so she can come!! We haven't been able to get ahold of her for the whole transfer, and before that, so it was a blessing that we were able to catch her! Friday morning after studies we went back to M's house because she needed help with English for an English class. 

I also got a much needed package full of my favorite fattening things from some of my favorite people :) you know who you are ;) 

Weekly planning was good, and in the evening we met with K! We haven't seen her for about 2 weeks, and in the middle of our lesson she so randomly says, "I wanna be baptized in like May or June. Can we do it soon?" Um.. Yes K!? haha she's so awesome :) so we are shooting for the beginning of May. She is still struggling with the word of wisdom but progressing!! :) please continue to keep her in your prayers :) 

Oh my gosh Saturday was nuts. We had a lesson with a member at 10am at a breakfast place, but she was 30 minutes late, so we were there forever! It was so awesome though because she was baptized in 2013 on my birthday!!? And told us her story :) her name is Y. She's the sweetest thing from Africa :) after that we went home for lunch but ended up sleeping the entire lunch hour because we were beat! We had a lesson at 2 with a reassignment whom we'd never met before, but the address brought us to a cigar and tobacco shop.... So we decided not to go in... :) Haha we called the number we had though and left a message! 

On the way home the light for the "low tire pressure" went off, so we stopped to fill our tires with air. In skirts. So fun :) I'm grateful for my smart sister who made sure I knew how to do that, because my companion didn't! 

The evening was full of checking on formers and sharing the gospel!! My favorite thing ever to do!! :) we have a few return appointments so we are excited :) I also got a call that day saying that C's baptism has been moved to the 22nd of March instead of the 21st due to a youth event taking up the stake center Saturday evening. She is so excited :) I AM SO EXCITED!!! :) I miss Centreville, so it will be good to see everyone again :) including sister Lewis!! Dear goodness next week the email will be so good! ;) haha '

Church on Sunday was good. It was ward conference and during 3rd hour it was a combined Q&A, which consisted of questions centered on marriage and dating. That was fun :) We had an investigator come to church so that was awesome! As well as a dinner appointment with a recent convert who is getting married to an agnostic. She's the coolest :) her testimony is super strong and he is very relaxed/supportive of her beliefs. We were able to share a message and part of me wonders what he thought. Maybe one day he will want to know more :) Mothers Day in England was on Sunday, so sister Morris got to skype her family and their accent is SO thick!! I LOVED it!! :) 

Sister Morris has been working so hard mentally all transfer that she shut down Sunday evening. She was pretty sick :/ so we went home early in order for her body to rest. She hasn't been sleeping either so that doesn't help. If you could keep my sweet British companion in your prayers, that would be WONDERFUL!! :) she works really hard and deserves a little extra divine help to rest :) 

Something I've really begun to appreciate is the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the gospel. I've been really studying the Book of Mormon in depth vs. just reading over the chapters and oh what a difference it's made! Weird, huh? ;) 

I am so grateful for the people who followed the council of the lord to write an account of the events that took place, and then buried those accounts in the ground so that they could be preserved for our day. I find it so neat to be able to relate and liken the scriptures to my life! 

Something I've noticed as I study, too, is that the organization of the church is the exact same as it was even before Christ came! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It's proven throughout the Book of Mormon :) I truly love that book with everything I am! 

We invite all men everywhere to read and pray about it, so you can know for yourself of the truthfulness of the things which we speak :) 

I'm beyond grateful for a loving father in heaven who provides us with modern day direction and council from a living prophet. My heart is full yet again :) it always will be because this gospel is true folks!! The Holy Ghost bears witness of that to me every single day! :) Its pretty great to be able to know that for myself :)

**Shout out to my boy Caden for turning 15 on Tuesday!!! You're getting so old, and so tall!! I hope you have a most wonderful birthday :) I love you! :) 

Have a fabulous week! 

Make good choices. 

Share the gospel. 

Endure to the end. 

Be happy :) 

Sister Chandler

Week 21: Starbucks, Ice Skating, & Testimonies

Dear Everyone,

'Twas a pretty busy week this week! Sister Morris and I decided to be so fully committed to the work and the Lord this transfer; we WILL see miracles within the next 6 weeks!! :)

Pday was pretty fun! We did the usual studies, emails, wrote letters, grocery shopping, and then we went to a street downtown Alexandria that has a bunch of little shops on it. We taught some members and then an investigator later in the evening. The sweetest lady that we taught was so worried about our salvation. She was so genuinely concerned about us and made my heart sad that she was so closed off, but we did what we could! 

Tuesday was awesome :) we had interviews with President Riggs just to see how we are doing, and then we spent the afternoon clearing out our iPads because we were going to get new ones on Wednesday. We ended up not getting them... but that's for the next paragraph :) later in the evening we taught E, our recent convert, at Starbucks! We taught about the atonement and keeping sabbath day holy. It was a super great lesson.

Remember the waitress last week that said she could see a light in our eyes?? Well sister Morris and I needed hot chocolate at Starbucks. Yes. Needed. And while we ordered, the cashier said the same thing!! I love being a servant of the lord!!! :) It makes us feel good knowing people can physically see the light of Christ through our eyes :)

We then taught some members and after that met with K! She's so funny :) we knocked on her door and as she opened it she goes, "oh my gosh this is so embarrassing, ya'll just caught me smoking". haha she said sorry like 20 times after that :) K struggles with the word of wisdom but she's trying to overcome all of her addictions, so if you could keep her in your prayers that would be lovely :)

N came over at the end of the lesson. He confessed his love for us, and said he's really only interested because we are pretty, so he dropped us :/ 

On Wednesday we went to Centreville again for a whole mission conference. (4.5 hours long) A couple people from the 70 came to teach us about what the church's plan is for social media proselyting. This is so cool!! So they're going to start teaching youth how to effectively share their beliefs on social media, and then when they get their mission call, they will receive a more in depth training. Once they hit the mtc the training for online proselyting will be wicked! (In the good way) The kids will already be somewhat prepared for the training there, and will receive/be trained on their own iPads. As soon as they get to the field they have 12 weeks of more training on how to do this! Basically the future generation of missionaries will be stellar at online/ social media proselyting :)
BUT!! It doesn't stop there!! The last 6 weeks of a mission will be partially spent doing normal missionary things, and partially spent figuring out what to do when you go home. We get to take the iPads home after our missions!! Coolest thing ever. We get our new ones in a week or so. I love the church, and the gospel, and being on a mission :) I received a load of revelation/inspiration for how to be a better missionary!!

Missionary meetings are my FAVORITE!! :) oh. Also, sister Lewis was there!! Obviously, because the whole rest of the mission was there, but it was so great! :) you'd think we haven't seen each other for years by the way we react when we see each other hahah I love that woman!! We even went out to lunch together with our companions after the meeting :) tender mercy :)

In the evening we had some more member lessons! Sister Morris and I have a goal to work with the members really hard this transfer! So far it's been so good :)

(Also, on a completely unrelated note, our bathroom light switch stopped working. So we had to take a flashlight in with us every time, until someone had the bright idea of putting a lamp in the bathroom:) hahah seriously I just love serving a mission!! :) )

So Thursday rolled around and we woke up to a text saying we weren't allowed to drive again because it had snowed pretty bad over night. After we got home from the gym, we looked outside to find it STILL snowing! But luckily it stopped eventually and then melted somewhat by the time we needed to go to our appointments and received the okay to drive again. Most of the members in our ward have served a mission, so we got to hear some neat experiences this week about different missions :)

The evening was awesome!! On Sunday a random girl in the ward came up to us and said she had just gotten home from her mission two months ago, and was willing to go out to lessons with us whenever we needed her. So nice! So we grabbed her on Thursday to come to a lesson with us. It was with a less active around my age who just needs good friends :) we ate dinner with her and then her aunt took us out to ice cream. DQ blizzards to be exact :) heaven!! And then our next lesson was with a member who fed us brownies and ice cream!! Two of my most favorite desserts back to back! I definitely ran hard Friday morning.

After studies on Friday we had weekly planning. That took all afternoon! Once we were out the door for the evening we met with more members!! Woohoo! :) earlier though, when we were planning, I felt strongly that we needed to teach humility with a certain member. Not because she seems prideful :) the spirit just said that's what she needed, so in the middle of planning a lesson on the atonement I was like, "sister Morris I really feel like we need to teach humility tonight". I'm grateful for a companion who trusts me and my gut because when we taught that member she started crying and told us to pause so she could run and grab a paper to take notes! What?! Always listen to the spirit :)
Saturday morning we went out to breakfast with a member at a super yummy... Breakfast place? haha it was good:) I think it's called, "Best Buns Bakery"?

Anyway, then we did our studies and had a couple Skype lessons with people from England!! One girl was so excited to hear my accent :) I thought that was funny because clearly she's the one with the accent ;) haha the evening was spent checking on potentials and former investigators. I love Alexandria!! There are so many people to see! We are always busy and I love it!! We have a couple return appointments so that's good.

Fast Sunday is always a spiritual experience on a mission :) I bore my testimony on Sunday and introduced myself a bit. Singles ward is AWESOME! I never want to not serve in a singles ward! :) Later in relief society a sister sitting next to me asked if I was related to her seminary teacher from Nampa- uncle rick. Small world! She even knew some people I know! Way cool :)

During church it rained frozen rain, and continued to do so for the rest of the day, so once again we weren't allowed to drive. (I attached a picture of it frozen to the trees) We had our member come pick us up for dinner, and as soon as I stepped out of the car I had to ice skate my way to the door. It was a thick sheet of ice on everything the rain touched! It felt super cool, but it was way super dangerous at the same time haha we were sliding everywhere :)

After our member dropped us off we spent the rest of the night mapping out potentials and investigators who have fallen off of the radar. Our plan is to pin them on the map so we can just contact everyone that lives near each other at one time vs. driving all over Virginia, back and forth. Smart, right? ;) but it will take a few days to map it out because there are loads of people in our area book! Which is so good! :) once we have that done it will make the work more productive and organized :) it was a good way to spend the evening considering we couldn't really go out.

I'm really grateful to be a tool in the lords hands. I am beyond thankful to have been raised with the fullness of the gospel, and to have the standards that I do. I often wonder if I'm doing all I can to submit my will to Gods, and how I can go about doing that without changing who I am completely.

Elder Ballard stated it beautifully when he said,

"That's the way it is when Jesus Christ becomes a reality in your life. It isn't that he somehow makes you do things that you wouldn't do otherwise. Rather, you find yourself wanting to do what He would do and respond as He would respond in an effort to bring your life into harmony with His, and an interesting thing happens whenever you attempt to put your feet in Christ's footsteps. If you really concentrate on trying to walk the way He walked- loving, caring, serving, and obeying each step of the way- one day you'll look up and discover that His path has led you directly to the throne of God. For that is, and ever has been, His great purpose and mission; to lead us to our Heavenly Father so we can dwell with Him in His Heavenly Home." 

Christ is the perfect example; He has showed us the way, and as we strive to live as He did, we don't become someone we aren't. We become our best selves; who we really are :) through the gospel of Jesus Christ this can happen. I know this to be true, and I love my Father in Heaven like I love my father on earth for helping me through this journey of life :) God is good and I love being a missionary :)

La la la loooovvveee,
Sister Chandler

Week 17: It's Pretty Cold Here

Happy Monday! :)

Unfortunately I have zero time to email. Again. So this will be another short email :/ sorry!

So on Monday we went to DC at the national gallery of art! That was cool :). On the bus ride there, a guy reading a news paper started talking to us and said, "you can knock on my door any time"..... hahaha :)

Tuesday I went on an exchange with my sister training leader! That means I spent the day in a different area (Ashburn) and the night with my sister training leader. It was fun! She's a dancer, too and we tried to make a dance up because she wanted to (and I didn't complain), but my brain was dead tired, so it didn't get very far :)

On Wednesday we moved in with the Spanish speaking sisters!! Hermana Tate and Meroli. She is Samoan and reminds me a lot of Lupi!! It's SO FUN!!! We laugh a ton and it's so great to have positive support to come home to when you have a hard day :)

Cool story: so on Thursday we went to a man's home who is Taiwanese!! Fate!! He said he didn't understand God or the Universe, and I was like, "Well we don't know very much about the universe, but we know a lot about God and would love to help you understand him! Is that something you'd be interested in?" And he said yes. Turns out, he's had 3 different sets of elders talk to him over the years, and he has never accepted an invitation. Sisters are better ;) haha just kidding. Elders are great, too :)

There is also a less active who wants to stop smoking and come back to church, so we are helping her with that!

C is good. Still waiting on her husband but it's all in the lords hands :) we see her this week.

Ah I'm sorry this is so short! :/ time is up though :/

Today, Monday we went bowling and we got to wear jeans!! Woohoo!! So I took a picture in the bathroom.... #selfie :) haha

I know God lives, and that Christ is my savior. I know the Book of Mormon is really the word of God, along side the Bible. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fullness and that there is a living prophet on the earth today! I know that God is the same yesterday, today,and forever. How blessed we are to have a Father in Heaven who sends us help and guidelines to make it safely back to Him :)

Have a good week!!
Sister Chandler

Week 16: Sight-seeing and Courage-building

I'm pointing to the Smithsonian in the background

Family!! Friends! Hello! :)

This will be quite short because today I went to DC which takes up...All of my day.

This week we had so much faith to find!! We knocked so many doors, contacted everyone we passed, chased down those we didn't, and found a new investigator! Woohoo!!

Funny story. One door we knocked on, I asked the guy what his name was and clearly he didn't want to tell us. I promised I wouldn't remember it anyway, and he tried to be subtle but SO obviously made up a name hahah he had the look on his face like, "yeah, that's my name, Brian...". I wanted to bust up laughing but that would be rude, so I contained myself :)

We knocked some MASSIVE houses this week!! I kept pacing back and forth in the driveways because I was trying to muster up the courage to walk the long, gorgeous, perfect driveway. But sister Liu would just laugh and walk up to the door, so I followed and then pretended that I was way confident when the door opened :)

Oh!! IMPORTANT!!>> I'm moving in with the Spanish sisters because our lease is up so I have a new address for like 3 weeks.

This week I made cooked oatmeal, French toast, and crepes all by myself for breakfast!! {pat myself on the back because I feel like I deserve it}

Oh my! Also, one morning before we left the house to run to the gym, we were looking for the keys. Couldn't find them anywhere, until sister Liu opened the door and they were OUTSIDE stuck IN the door! Ya. Totally could have gotten kidnapped/robbed/killed that night, but God protects his missionaries so no big deal, right? :P hahah whoops!! :)

It snowed this week! But then it melted by dinner time so it didn't look like it ever did.

I hit my 4 month mark this week!! Time is going by so fast, and yet so slow!! But I honestly love my experience here and wouldn't trade it for the world :)

Today we went to the national gallery of art with our sister training leaders and SISTER LEWIS!!!! Oh how I love that woman!! Such a great day!! :)) I also went on the metro for the first time, that was fun :)

The Washington Monument. I'm doing a thumbs up, but you can't tell. 

A pretty picture

My good friend George

My even better friend, Sister Lewis

I'm so grateful to know that I am a daughter of God. I know that Heavenly Father really does love His daughters like any good father would, and he wants the best for us. I know that when we are obedient to His commandments, and endure to the end, we won't be able to count the blessings that pour into our lives :) 

Again, sorry this was so short!! Next week will be better :) if I don't get around to emailing

you this week, I will next week!!

Love you :)
Sister Chandler

Ps. I just want to mention that I ran 3.58 miles a couple different times this week :) that's big for me :)

Week 14: Snow, Thumbs Up!, and Four Minutes

Happy Monday!! :))   This has been a LONG week!

THUMBS UP FOR THE SNOW!

On Monday sister Lewis and I went to get our nails done because it was our last P-day together and we wanted to. So while we sat there and enjoyed being pampered, we totally shared the gospel! The guy (yes, guy) doing my nails was Vietnamese, and it was hard to understand him, but for the most part I figured it out. I asked, "If I brought you a Book of Mormon would you read it?" I don't actually know what he said because I couldn't understand him, so I just said, "Great!! I'll bring one in your language next week!" :) That's what I'll be doing this week :) 

On Tuesday we ran to the gym like usual except it had SNOWED (for real this time)!! I was so excited!! :) People are hilarious over here when it comes to snow. Sister Lewis and I come from Utah and Idaho. We are used to snow, but people here are from all over the world so not everyone knows how to handle it. As we were cruising down the road, there were so many people going literally 5mph. A couple of cars just stopped and people got out and walked!! hahah

Wednesday was full of saying goodbye to members and packing, because Thursday was transfers. I learned so much from Sister Lewis and we truly became best friends in the mission. I will miss her SO much! But I know I can't progress if I stick with the same person the whole time :)

This lady is one of our investigators whom we love dearly.

<< MY NEW COMPANION >>

Are you ready?? ;) We went from Sister Lewis, to Sister Liu! (Lew) :) She comes from the land of Taiwan where the people are many and the Wendy's fast food restaurants are none. She is 22, and SO AWESOME!! She is such a great missionary and I have already learned a lot from her :) This will be a successful, fun, hard transfer but we are so ready to take it on! :) PS: Yes mother, I am now driving.   

My Asian companion that I'm pretty excited about :)... and I definitely crocheted that scarf!!

On Friday we helped a member pack up her home because she is moving, and I learned how to fold a fitted bed sheet because those are tricky, so that was cool!! We also ran to the gym that morning and found that it was CLOSED!?! Ya. What? So we ran back, and it was closed the next day, too, but it's open now :) We found someone new to teach!! Finally! Sister Liu and I are going to tract on purpose this week because our teaching pool is diminishing :( 

Okay. Now, I'll tell you about one of my favorite talks from conference last year. 

During my studies this week I came across a talk given by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson in conference of April last year. Many of you may remember it! It's entitled, "Your Four Minutes". In this talk he describes three LDS Olympic medalists, of which, I'd like to expand on two. 

• The first one he mentions is Noelle Pikus-Pace who competed in an event called the skeleton. He described the event as athletes building, "momentum as they sprint and then plunge headfirst on a small sled. With their faces inches above the ground, they race down a winding, icy track at speeds that top 90 miles (145 km) an hour". Bishop Stevenson goes on to teach us that Noelle spent an enormous amount of time, years even, to prepare for the four minutes she had to get it right. After the race was over she would have her whole life to look back on that short amount of time that she had to perform her best.

• Torah Bright is an LDS Olympic half pipe snowboarder who won a silver medal after a flawless run. This story sticks out to me because she, "noticed that American snowboarder Kelly Clark, who had a bad first run in her final round, appeared to be nervous about her second run. 'She gave me a hug,' Clark recalls. 'She just held me until I actually calmed down enough and I slowed my breathing. It was good to have a hug from a friend.'” When questioned because of this Christ-like act, Torah responded with, "I am a competitor--I want to do my best--but I want my fellow competitors to do their best, too.”

These two stories reminded me of dance competitions. From November to March we practice, perform, and compete routines to prepare ourselves for the final State competition. Each dance is about a minute and a half, so when we are standing on the sidelines waiting to walk on the floor to compete, all that races through my mind is, "I can do this! We can do this. We have prepared and worked so hard all season for this moment right now". And then there is always that silent prayer that nobody messes up ;)

In my case, I only had a minute and a half to perform to my best ability in hopes of it being enough to take that state banner home. After the music stopped, we would walk off the floor exhausted from giving our all, and now I have forever and a half to look back on that performance. (In case you're wondering, we did take that banner home. Twice! And I'm humble about it ;)) 

Behind the scenes of a dance competition, I always made sure to compliment other teams on their costumes and performance, as well as wishing them luck before they competed. I, like Torah Bright, wanted to do my best, but I wanted my fellow competitors to do their best, too. 

Now is the time. Before we were born on this earth, we lived with our father in heaven. He presented His plan to us and we prepared to come to this life. NOW is our "four minutes" to "perform" to the best of our ability. To be our best selves, to serve others, to strengthen our relationship with Christ, etc. We will have eternity to look back and remember how we did. I don't know about you, but I want to be exhausted from working so hard and giving my all to be my best self by the end of my four minutes. :) 

The post office is close to my apartment
 and at night the trucks are all parked together.
 It was a pretty great sight because
 I LOVE mail!!! :)

• In the Book of Mormon {Alma 12: 24} we read, "... Therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God..." And that's exactly what life is! 

I am beyond grateful to know that I have a literal Father in Heaven who loves me, and who helps me throughout this life so that I am able to live with Him again. He wants ALL of His children to return to Him. I know my savior lives, and loves me. I'm grateful to be a tool in the Lord's hands 24/7! I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and it's the perfect cheat sheet to "performing" our best during this "four minutes" of life. I invite you to read it. Study it. Pray about it! In that sacred book you will find peace, joy, hope, and comfort :)

{{ I  A M  S O  G R A T E F U L  F O R  T H E  G O S P E L  O F  J E S U S  C H R I S T }}

Thank you X10 for the support, love, and prayers!! 

Love, Sister Kailey Chandler