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

8 Months Out...Yep, I Love My Life!

My dearest family and friends, 

This week was a roller-coaster. It was full of multiple different emotions, but in all it was wonderful! I love my Savior with everything I have. I am truly, immensely grateful for the atonement and its application in my daily life, as well as the guidance of the Holy Ghost. My testimony of the love that God has for us grew exponentially this week; mostly this weekend! I have felt the spirit much more abundantly in my life this past week than I have for a long time. I'm not sure why, but I'm grateful for it :) 

I testify that God IS there and that He IS aware of you. 

So very aware of you :) I am so grateful to be on a mission!! I wouldn't trade this experience for anything :) Training is so much fun :) I absolutely love my companion :) 

Monday was pretty relaxed! We didn't do a whole lot until it was time to head out for the night! We had dinner with a member who is getting married soon, and we shared a message on aligning our will with the Fathers will. It was not the lesson we had planned and prepared, but as soon as we started talking, we knew what we needed to share. The spirit is the coolest :) After dinner we got a call from an elder in our zone saying he had a referral for us! I'm telling you.People keep dropping at our feet. Heavenly Father is so good to us! Then we went to check on a different referral, but she wasn't home. So we left a plan of salvation pamphlet and a note at her door, with our number in case she had any questions :) 

On the drive to and from different places that night, Sister Jones and I practiced street contacting people :) This means I would give a description of a person and situation and give her 5 seconds to approach me with more than, "Hi! How are you? :)" 

• The first scenario I gave was of a big, buff, African American with head phones in walking past her.  (because this is real life. We see them everywhere and they're the coolest people!)  She goes, "Hey! I have a question for you! ... Where'd you get.... Your shoes??" :) hahah I love Sister Jones :) 

The rest of the night we spent with an investigator, T, who we always seem to run into when she needs us most. We were actually at her apartment complex to check on a potential, but she walked her dog outside and as soon as she saw us she said, "Are you here to see me??" The hope in her sad eyes melted my heart. "We have all the time in the world for you, T. For the next hour :)" so we taught the plan of salvation and invited her to church! She's older than our ward, so we will have to pass her soon, but that will be sad for me because I genuinely love her so much. Oh well. Same team! 

Tuesday morning after studies we went to interviews with President Riggs! It's his last set of interviews with everyone before he leaves next month. It went so well! I am grateful for all he is and all he does. He is a fantastic mission president :) The rest of the day was so fun! 

• We went to a lesson with a member but it canceled, so we went to check on a potential who didn't answer the door. On our way out we said goodbye to the lady at the front desk of the apartment. Her name tag said, "Robbin", and just as we were about to push on the doors to leave, I turned around and asked, "Robbin, are you religious at all?" Turns out she was baptized a while ago, had her kids baptized, and then fell away. We had a good chat and shared a Mormon message with her :) sweet sweet lady :) 
• We then needed gas in our vehicle, so we got some. While we were at the gas station we talked to the guy on the other side of the pump, and as we drove away we rolled down our window to stop and talk to a guy on his bike :) I love doing this 24/7! It's the coolest :) 

Wednesday was so interesting. We went to drop Sister Jones off at a new missionary meeting from 9-1; while she was there, I went to district meeting with sister Todd (who was my MTC companion) :) that was fun! She let me borrow her ankle brace until I don't need it anymore!! Can anyone say blessing!? Inspired.

When that meeting was over, we went to pick our trainees up and go home. After 3 hours of studies, we went to dinner!! The lesson we shared during dinner with a member was so special. The spirit was so strong, and I was filled with gratitude for the gift of discernment. She needed the message we shared, and there is no way we would have known if it wasn't for the direction of the spirit in preparation for it. 

• Then we went to a lesson with another member! Here's where it gets weird, but so cool at the same time :) First of all, parking is impossible in Virginia. They tow everywhere, and the streets are full of cars, so you can only park on the street if you get lucky enough to find a spot. There wasn't a spot, so I just decided to brave it and park in a possible towing zone, just for a couple minutes while we went to see if this guy (George) was home. While walking to his apartment complex, we say hello to a couple guys hanging out on the street. Ky and Fr. They believe in God but then from there they have their individual beliefs. Ky has been surrounded with different beliefs his whole life, while frank doesn't really believe in anything. He thinks the bible stories and Jesus Christ are all just fairy tales. At first it seemed contentious and felt like if we stayed any longer talking to him, it would be pointless because it wouldn't go anywhere. Then I felt impressed to ask if they've ever wondered where they came from, or why they're here. Ky said, "I've always wondered what my purpose is! Why are we here? I always get stuck on that". Oh how I love my calling! :)) For whatever reason, Fr invited us all to go inside and learn more. We asked if they had a parking pass so we wouldn't get towed, but it turns out we had parked in the lot that Ky lives at! He said we wouldn't get towed, and if we did, he'd tell them we were cousins :) Ky is 6'3 and African American :) hahah That made me laugh :) 

• On the way we ran into some more of their friends, so we invited them to come, too :) one of them said, "Sisters! :)" another said, "my grandmother goes to your church! You're Mormon right? I went to church with her on Sunday!" Basically. All I'm thinking is.... What even is this!? #miraclesanyone??  So they came. We taught the plan of salvation. We bore testimony and invited them to pay attention to the feelings of their hearts as we taught. The spirit was strong :) we gave them pamphlets for the plan of salvation and before inviting them to read them, Ky said, "Thank you so much! I'm going to read this before I go to work!" These kind fellows walked us out to our car, and on the way frank told me that he had never trusted women because of what he grew up with. He said he knows he can trust us because of the look in our eyes :) He said, "I can see your loyalty when I look in your eyes. You're genuine, and when I shook all of your hands! You can tell a lot about a persons character in a hand shake. I trust and respect you. I want you to come back". I don't know if anything will come of this. All of them wanted our number (and wanted to know if I had a boyfriend :) hahah) BUT they seemed genuinely interested in the gospel as well :) I love being a missionary. 

Thursday was rough! We were inside a lot of the afternoon because we had studies and had to take an online survey for Sister Jones that we didn't even finish because it's so long. Also, I was exhausted! Mentally and physically. Training hurts my brain; I feel like the majority of the responsibility is on me (though I know we share it) and it consumes my head until I'm worn out. You know when you're so tired that your body is so weak and it's hard to find the energy to move? That's how I felt aaaaalllll stinking day! And we had zero success that night. But the lord blessed me with a tender mercy the next morning by turning my alarm off so we could sleep an extra half hour. Usually we wake up at 6 to have more time to exercise, and I am positive that I set my alarm!! But when I naturally woke up at 6:24 I noticed that my alarm was turned off! Weird. But I felt so much better! 

Friday was weekly planning... In the park :) remember my sunburn from a couple weeks ago?? Well my sweet companion currently suffers the same result of planning in the park :) I'm broken and she's a lobster! We look so good. ;)

• In the evening we went out to dinner with a member, and then cold stone was right next door so we HAD to stop there, of course. When we were satisfied we traveled to see some investigators. The GPS took us through an airport maze and basically we were completely lost for a solid 10 minutes. So stressful. Good thing I have a companion who knows how to laugh at everything and helps me find the humor in it all :) Once we got out of that mess, we followed the GPS to a potentials house. Turns out he lives in Maryland?! Ya. Whoops. We drove across the Potomac river (which meant we were officially outside of the mission boundaries). Sister Jones was crying laughing and I don't think I've ever been so stressed out in my life! THEN we went to see someone else and the GPS took us to the wrong address -_- at this point I'm ready to go home to bed, but it was one of those moments where you smile through it and think, "Ohhhh my gosh. What a day..." Because you can't do anything about it :) haha missions! They're the greatest! Needless to say, we didn't have much success that day either. 

However; I have been blessed with a companion who still has fire and who isn't mentally exhausted. She has new ideas, and her spirit hasn't been dulled by the rejections and trials that come with a mission. She had the idea to sit down at the end of every day and write the blessings that take place. On days like Thursday and Friday, this is a super good idea to help us see the good and remember to be thankful :)

My shoes decided to break! It's cool.
 I just pulled that metal thing out and they still work :)

Saturday was good! We had a lesson with an investigator and had a member with us. This investigator was found by sisters in November, so I had never met him, and he had some really good questions. He really wants to know how to feel that God is there, but he isn't patient enough to wait for an answer. He wants to know right now, and if he doesn't get it, he gives up. We taught him how to pray, and we taught the atonement to explain that he is understood; Christ knows how he feels and Heavenly Father is very aware of him. It was good! We have another lesson with him on Thursday and he's coming to church on Sunday! :) 

• When we got home we had a text asking us to teach gospel doctrine on Sunday (yesterday), so in addition to writing a talk (I was asked to speak on Sunday) we created a lesson plan. We also had to finish companionship inventory and the online survey for Sister Jones. Our Saturday was BUSY! But good :) We taught T that night, too which went well! T is my favorite :) We were talking about the Book of Mormon and reasons why I loved it; one of which was that it brought pure happiness in my life every day, and she said the most random, sweetest thing. I totally got teary eyed. She said, "You impressed me that first time we met. You just radiated something and I kept looking at you trying to figure it out". Heavenly Father is so good to me. Once again the man answered my prayers and then blessed me with a tender mercy moment. 

Sunday was a big day! I gave my talk in sacrament meeting, sister Jones and I taught gospel doctrine, and it was my 8 month mark :) 

• In preparation for my talk, I prayed fervently to be directed by the spirit so that I would prepare the things that the congregation needed to hear. I really only wanted to say what the Lord would have me say, and I prayed that the spirit would teach as I spoke. Afterward I received a handful of comments from people saying they needed to hear the message I shared (The topic was missionary work). Later in the evening a sister in our ward told me my talk inspired her so much that she posted a comment on Facebook inviting anyone to ask her questions about her religion, and it opened a couple really good conversations!

•  After church we ran into sisters in a different ward who are teaching J! (We taught him the restoration but had to pass him because he was too old for our ward). Anyway, they had just gotten out of a lesson with him and they said the coolest thing. They told us that he went to his catholic mass and after about 15 minutes he felt like he needed to come to our ward, so he did, and he said he needed to hear the talks that were given. What a testimony builder to me! I don't share these things to boast and let you know how awesome I am for preparing a talk that everyone needed. I share this with you because it strengthens my testimony to know that the lord hears our prayers. He works through us, and we are privileged to be tools in His hands if we so desire :) God is good :) 

For dinner we ate with a recent convert, her non-member fiancé, and mother in law who is also not of our faith :) The message we shared was on love and everyone was in tears. The mother in law said that us coming over was inspired because she needed our message. Again!! The Lord truly is amazing :) 

Today we had the opportunity to go to the temple!! :))) I haven't been to the temple for about 7.5 months; I was temple starving! We can only go once every 6 months and the last time I went was the first month I got to Virginia. I should have made a paper chain for that ;) All week I have been telling sister Jones, "Guess what we get to do on Monday?? :)))" My heart was and is overflowing with gratitude. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!! It's true. I know it. I live it. I want everyone else to know it. So I'm on a mission :) 

I could keep writing, but if I do it would be repeated words of gratitude and genuine love for my Father in Heaven. So just know that I'm happier than I ever have been because of the Lord and the privilege that I have to be an instrument in His hands, and I'm grateful for your continuous prayers on my behalf :) I hope you can feel my passion in this email because I'm bursting over here just writing everything :) Have a good week!! 

I love you!! 

Sister Chandler 

Week 20: 'ello

Family and friends,

What a productive week I had! :)

On Monday after we emailed, I was with sister Davis and sister Morris so we went to lunch at 5 guys, then played basketball with our sister training leaders and wrote letters. We totally got stuck in snowy traffic for 2 hours when originally it's a 20 min. drive! 'Twas great bonding time though :) during that drive, we got a text saying nobody was allowed to drive that night so we had to cancel our appointments and call it a snow day. The roads get crazy icy here when it snows, so that was fun! We got pizza on the way home :)

Tuesday morning we had district meeting, and then it snowed again!! :) that night we had a dinner at a buffet with a recent convert. Coolest/ sweetest thing EVER happened. We were talking about the priesthood more in depth with the recent convert, and after a while our waitress stopped to read our tags. After telling her who we were and what we did she said, "I knew it! I knew it because there's something in your eyes!" :) is that not the most awesome thing ever?! We talked to her for a bit but she lives outside of our mission, so we gave her a restoration pamphlet :) 

I definitely impressed the recent convert with what Spanish I do know, so that was fun! We taught sister Morris (who is from England) how to roll her "R's" but she couldn't :) later that night we taught an investigator and then her friend happened to knock on the door in the middle of our lesson. When she answered the door she was like, "come in! Come listen to this! This is the real deal here, no foolin around with this one! It's the real thing". :) so he came in and we taught him, too! He's from Africa :) 

Wednesday wasn't so busy because Thursday was transfers, so we just packed and cleaned . Then in the evening we checked on less actives.

Thursday: Transfers (in Centreville!! Yay!!) So we basically didn't have a clue where I would go or who I would be with. We heard I would stay with sister Davis because I was on the list in her district, but my area book was synced with the Potomac ward with sister Waldron. So it was a big guessing game, and transfers were exciting because I ended up being companions with Sister Morris!! This is too funny because sister Osmond (Donny Osmond's niece) trained sister Lewis, and then trained Sister Morris! So that's cool. I'm in a singles ward now which is way fun! Different, but fun :)
Later that night we had dinner with a member who gave us like 4 referrals! Ya, what?! Singles ward RM's are the BEST! It's like they never left their mission! Then we had a lesson with a member. It was FREEZING COLD that night!

Side note*** we are getting new iPads on Wednesday and having a 4 hour Facebook training-- president Riggs says we won't have facebook for a couple months :/ not sure how that will work out because a lot of us have investigators online... We'll see! 

On Friday we cleaned and reorganized the apartment because the spirit cannot dwell in unclean areas and it needed to be done! So after that we got to weekly planning, then checked on potentials and referrals. I met the ward mission leader, and then we checked on those referrals. One guy answered the door saying, "I grew up in salt lake. I'm very happy with my episcopalian church and I got my wine right here!" :) haha and another guy at a different house said, "you're mormon and I know that because of your tags that say sister. I was almost a brother but I'm Jewish and I think I'll stay that way". I love tracting! The stories are so great! :)

Saturday was fun! We were doing our progress report when a random lady in the library warned us about the weather :) so sweet :) 

THEN on Saturday our stake did a mini mission for the youth! So our zone and one other zone got to pretend to be normal people (because we definitely aren't normal anyway) that the youth would have to street contact. They were taught how to share the gospel through media, showed what a district meeting was like, knocked doors (in the church), and had a companion that they spent the day with. It ended with a testimony meeting which we were going to stay for, until we saw that it had snowed a few more inches. Our car is awful in this weather (I strongly vote against a Ford Fusion in the winter, but am so grateful to have a car!:) ) so we had to leave early in order to be home for a lesson on time. That night we weren't allowed to drive again, and we couldn't find a ride to our lessons, so we had Skype lessons! 

Remember the man from Africa I mentioned earlier? We had a Skype lesson with him on the plan of salvation! He so badly wants to come to church, so he is going to ask for work off this Sunday; pray for him! He's awesome. I love Africans :)

Sunday morning was spent digging our car out of our parking space for 40 minutes, in a dress, with a window scraper. So fun :) Church was good! The members are so willing to come to lessons with us, and it makes me so excited for the work!! Members are my favorite :) then in the evening we just checked on potentials/less actives :) 

This week I've really felt a change of heart! To strive harder to be my best self, and exactly obedient in the work. It's super easy to be relaxed on simple rules, but the blessings and miracles that you see from being exactly obedient are amazing. It's not worth it to shrug off something that seems simple, and okay to be relaxed with. 

I'm grateful for the atonement in my life!! Seriously Jesus Christ is my best friend. I am so grateful for Him! This gospel is true people!! You can only know for yourself when you search with real intent, truly desiring to know if this mormon stuff is the real deal or not. I PROMISE that when you do this, you WILL receive an answer that it is true. I can only testify of this because I've done the searching :) 

"Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it SHALL be opened unto you..." Shall! That's an absolute. 'Tis a promise, and God doesn't break His promises when we do what He says :)
I love being a missionary! I love this work, and I love you!! 

Have a most awesome week!! 

Sister Kailey 

Ps. Tomorrow is my 5 month mark being a full time missionary. Time is cruising!! :)

Week Four: Baptism, Bugs, & the Atonement

Oh my dear goodness this week was full of hilarious/weird/sad/heart warming experiences. Let me just share a few :)

On Monday we invited C to be baptized! She said... YES :) She is praying for a date and so are we! She will be baptized before the end of the year and that makes us SO excited! :) We teach her again tonight :)

We taught a lady who was basically raised in the church, but less active. She doesn't see the point in coming to church, though we've discussed it with her multiple times. Then! We brought up baptism this week and she was like, "I don't know if you guys know this but my son (who is 10 yrs old) was already baptized. Sister Lewis and I go, "Oh! That's so great!" Then this lady says, "Yeah, I baptized all my kids when they were two in the catholic church to protect them. So they already have the holy spirit with them!" She gets offended super easily though so we aren't really sure how to approach this one yet haha :)

On Wednesday we ate dinner at a member's home and GUESS WHAT?? Her little girl's name was Evelyn, dinner was the same homemade chicken noodle soup that my mama makes, and for dessert, we had apples and caramel (which is my favorite snack). This totally felt like home. I loved it :) 

We had exchanges this week, which is where my companion spends a day and night with one sister training leader, and her companion comes to stay with me! We had no such luck teaching anyone that day, but I learned a lot from her and it was a really really nice opportunity :) 

Also, can I just say that I pretty much died this week doing service?? One woman needed help cleaning her house (which is the size of my living room). There was trash (like wrappers, empty McDonalds bags, empty bottles, etc.) scattered throughout the entire room. There were BUGS EVERYWHERE; inside the trash cans, around cups, flying around my face the whole time... and the dust was awful. We dusted a dresser and found a dead bug on it! hahaha oh my gosh it was so gross, but we were glad to help. I asked if she had a vacuum but she didn't know, and I said, "Oh, we will find one before we leave this place". So we did... but it didn't have a big attatchment like most vacuums do, so I totally just vacuumed the entire floor with the little hose thing! Yep. Im a beast. 

Also, as I was putting her laundry away, I smacked my head super hard on the closet door because someone said my name and I whipped around too fast to realize that I was too close to the door... ya ouch. haha I almost cried but I'm a big girl so I held it in ;) 

The people over here are filthy rich. Filthy. Rich. So for Halloween, we got together as a zone and went to this guy's house who is in my ward and has a theater in his home. Literally.... a theater. He bought us pizza and we got to watch two movies!! Space Jam and Dispicable Me 2 (boys picked these.. clearly). Sisters and Elders aren't allowed to play games together, but Halloween was an exception, so we played Uno and I won a few times! Still got it :)

Saturday morning was SO fun because my district (who is like family) helped a family move out, and at one point they needed me to stand on some furniture so I could shove things in the back; I was the only one small enough to fit. (I have a picture and it'll make more sense when you see it). It was super cold though!! It's getting pretty chilly over here :) That night we went on a blitz which is where everyone in your district gets together and knocks doors in a big appartment complex, or in a big neighborhood. Sister Lewis and I had some funny experiences :) 

**Side Note: The town houses here are like the ones in San Fransisco; pretty much glued together and built upward instead of outward.**

1. We knocked one door and this old Chinese guy barely opened his window above the door and yelled, "What do you want?". Sister Lewis was like, "We just want to talk about God!" but he didn't hear so he asked, "What?" Then I was like, "We just..... wanna ask you a question! What are you thankful for?" but then he said, "No no, not interested". Obviously he isn't very thankful for anything.

2. We knocked a door and this little boy opens. "Oh hey! Come on in!" he says hahaha :) So cute! We didn't, but we asked if his mom or dad was home. Two guys came to the door, one looked about our age and the other was definitely in his 30's. Long story short, the 30 year old is from Portugal so I was like, "Oh my gosh! No way! My dad lived there for 2 years!" Then we started talking about families and we told them that we believe families can be together forever. Immediately he goes, "Ugh I hope not". People here seriously do not like their families! haha Every time we say that, they always groan like that's an awful idea!? Before we left this door, we got a return appointment but we are pretty sure the kid is more interested in us than he is in learning the gospel, so we are going to send the elders over instead. Surprise! :) 

3. We saw 2 foxes sprint out of a bush! I've never seen a fox in person before so I was excited :) 

4. This was a super windy, cold night so we went to get hot chocolate before we went home. We went to Starbucks and the guy I ordered my hot chocolate from was like, ".... Hot chocolate?" As if he wasn't sure if I meant what I said. I feel like a foreigner sometimes :P 

I was pretty sick yesterday :( I felt like I had the flu, so I slept for 2 hours and flet soooo much better! We taught a really good lesson that night. We have a ton of things planned for this week and we are praying they all go through! I love being a missionary :) 

I told my grandma this last week, but when I think of the Atonement, I tend to automatically think that Christ was like a super hero and didn't feel the pains of the things He went through, too much. But then I sit back and remember that He was just like you and I. He was human, too and felt everything. He bled from every pore... do you know how many pores you have? A lot. I am so grateful for my Savior. He literally saved me, and continues to do so. So many things are possible because of Him! The hymn, "I Stand All Amazed" is basically exactly how I feel towards the Atonement. God is so good :) 

Im grateful to be out on a mission! J is the faithful woman whom we dropped because she dropped us, and I sent her a letter because one of the first times we met with her, we discussed how fun it was to receive a letter! She said shes never got one before, so I promissed I would write her one. Anyway, I did just that last week, and today she texted us super nice things! Which is a miracle because she's been ignoring us! Letters are the best :) 

I hope everyone is having such a good week, and SHOUT OUT TO MY BEST FRIEND WHO TURNED 18 ON SUNDAY!!!!! I hope it was the best weekend ever :) (as much as it can be without me) ;) I miss everyone so much, but I love it out here all at the same time :) Thanks for the emails and prayers! :)

Sister Chandler

The Room

Read this if you haven't heard of it :) the atonement is too cool! I love my savior!!

The Room
By Joshua Harris

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in a
room. There were no distinguishing features in this room save the one
wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in
libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order.
But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly
endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew
near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that
read "Girls I Have Liked". I opened it and began flipping through the
cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the
names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless
room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here
were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a
detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within
me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some
brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so
intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was
watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed".

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I
Have Read", "Lies I Have Told", "Comfort I Have Given", "Jokes I Have
Laughed At". Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things
I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I
Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My
Parents". I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there
were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could
it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of
these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed
this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with
my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To", I
realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were
packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the
end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of
music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file
represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts", I felt a chill run
through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to
test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed
content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No
one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have
to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size
didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took
it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge
a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find
it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot.
Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying
sigh. And then I saw it. The title --- "People I Have Shared the
Gospel With". The handle was brighter than those around it, newer,
almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than
three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it
contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that the hurt
started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and
cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all.
The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must
ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him.
Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to
open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His
response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face,
I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the
worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at
me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I
dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again.
He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many
things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one
end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His
name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no,"
as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards.
But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name
of Jesus covered mine.

It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign
the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so
quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last
file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and
said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its
door. There were still cards to be written.