Excitement

HELLO!!!!!

Oh my goodness!!!!!!! PHIL IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!! I know I haven't mentioned him to you yet, but that is because I just met him on Saturday.  And he wants to be baptized.  He is really cool!  One of our members gave him a Book of Mormon, and he read it is 3 days!  Then he prayed like he had never prayed before, and he felt good and he is going to be baptized on August 24!!!  There is only one problem... Sister Fratcher and I have never had a baptism before, so we don't really know what to do.  So we are learning everything that we need to be doing right now.  We are so excited!!  He reminds me a lot of German from the District.  (Look him up on Mormon.org) 

So this Phil does War re-enactments, and he told us this cool story where he was lost and trying to find the exit for his next re-enactment, and it was pouring rain in New York.  And suddenly he felt hands on his, guiding the steering wheel to an exit.  And ever since then he had been trying to find God.  And he said that this in the only church where he has found God.  He is soo ready for this, and we will be meeting him again on Tuesday.  Because all we really know is that we need to teach him all the lessons from PMG before he gets baptized. 

Say Hi to Val, Mike, Katie, and Tyler for me!  I want to see some pictures from all your excursions that you are doing.  So if you decide to hike timp, take pictures. :)  Or anything else.

Oh yeah, another investigator that we have been meeting with was in the hospital.  She broke her back a couple months ago, and then she has also had a bunch of Kidney infections and things like that.  So the other day we were supposed to meet and she said that she was going to the hospital since she had a high fever.  We wanted her to get a blessing, but we didn't know which hospital she was at.  So we finally found out, towards the end of the day, so we had to find 2 priesthood holders and get ask for permission from our district leaders and then ask for permission to go see her, and then have someone else drive us to see her so she could have a blessing.  There are a bunch of procedures in the mission field.  So we did all that and finally found someone who could take us and get her a blessing and we just barely were able to see her right before she was heading into surgery.  Like they were about to take her out and he got there, and they were able to giver her blessing.  She has a fever of 105 and was burning up!  So now she is still in the hospital recovering.  We are just happy that she is doing better since so many things have happened to her.

Oh in relation to the deck collapse of a couple weeks ago, well the relief society president is still in rehab.  She broke both her legs and an ankle and a knee cap.  She will be in a wheel chair for about  3 months.  And the bishops wife cracked 3 ribs and 3 vertebra. So they are back in their house.  And right after the bishops wife was back their dryer caught on fire and burned their upstairs a bit, and caused a bunch of smoke damage.  So they were homeless and had a bunch of other problems.  (They fire and deck issues happened at the same house.)  So now they are living in a hotel in White River Junction, Vermont.  Luckily they have a rental home that they can move into soon.

So the picture that I sent is a church that is on the property of the Joseph Smith Memorial (JSM).  There is only 1 ward, and they have 2 sets of missionaries.  We cover 8 towns and they cover 8 towns.  So it is a bit crazy.  We are constantly driving since we are in a very rural area. But it is so beautiful here and the ward members are so nice.  We meet every week at 10:00 am for sacrament meeting.  It is kind of an odd time, but this way people can get here if they live 30-40 miles away.  Since some do. 

Oh so exchanges... that was interesting... I am really glad to be in my area, and to be working with the people I work with.  And I'm so glad that I'm a visitor center sister.  I am so glad that I can see so many different people each and every day.  And that I can have investigators from around the world.  Like we have a 15 year old boy from Denmark who is one of our online investigators.  We is so cool, and ready to have to gospel in his life, but his parents won't let him be baptized.  So we are lucky that we can work with him online.  He has such a strong testimony, and we hope that one day we will be able to meet him in person.

Love you All,

And I can't wait to hear more about how everyone is doing!!

Love Always and Forever,

Sister Lundahl

Hello!!!

Hey All!

That is soooo exciting about Lauren!! She will be a fantastic missionary.

So Candace sent me some questions that must be answered...

How is the mission field?

Well, it is busy.  There is no such things as naps.  And sometimes eating doesn't always fit into the time schedule.   But the field is white already to harvest.  And we are working, and finding those who are willing to enter the fold. 

Do I knock on doors? 

Well yes. As a matter of fact I do.  Most people don't like it when you walk into theri house without knocking first... lol.  But we do knock a bunch of doors.  It is not always tracting, but we will go and knock on the doors of referrals and talk to them.  Don't worry, I'm sure I will still come back an awkward duckling. :)

How am I received at the doors?

As a person, people are really kind, as soon as you mention being a missionary or religion, people don't appreciate that as much.  Most people do a polite, quick conversation.  Some will tell us they are not interested.  Some say sure you can come back.  And some let us teach them.  Sure some have slammed doors. But if they don't listen, we can't talk to them.   We can only do the best we can.  

How is the JSM Memorial building and the people there?
Well, I should take some pictures and send them to you.  But basically the building that we are in now was built in 1961.  It replaced the Memorial cottage that used to be here which was built in 1905.  From what I've heard this place was the very first Historical Site.  But I will double check that.  

The buildings are very nice, especially since they are the only places with central air conditioning. 

The people here at the Memorial are very nice.  We get a bunch of tours and people who don't even know who Joseph Smith is.  In fact last Monday we had the heritage tours come here and I say a bunch of people from AF.  It was weird.  And they didn't recognize me at first since I cut my hair.  But it was great to see them again.  

The Senior couples are fantastic.  They really help us a bunch.  They are always feeding us and looking things up for us, like directions, and they are always trying to help.

This is the end of Candace's questions. 

There have been so many things that have happened here.  First is we have 2 new investigators!! Basically one is this really cool gu ywho took a BoM the first time the sisters talked to him.  And then when we stopped by he went and grabbed his BoM and Bible and cam and had us teach him the first lesson.  He son was there too and was the other investigator.  He is a really cool guy, but has had a major concussion and now cannot remember most of his childhood and cannot read very well, but when he hears the stuff he learns it, so we are getting him a BoM on CD for him to listen to.  And he totally will. 

So we have exchanges this week, so the Sister Training Leader will be coming here and I'm going to be in charge of the area for a day... :-/ I'm not sure if it will be a good thing, but it will happen.  And hopefully I won't get us lost.  Because if you look at the roads here there is no grid, there is no system.  They are all wherever people decided to to settle down 100 yrs ago.  So we will find out if i get us all lost.

Well I love you all and want to hear from you.  Written letters are greatly appreciated.

Love always,

Sister Lundahl

Sick

Hey All,

I've some bad news, this last week I was sick.  It all started on Monday, which of course was P-day.  So we went along doing all our stuff like e-mails and such, but the whole time I just felt like I was getting the flu or something.  So when we finally get done shopping and e-mails we come home and I had a fever of 100.3  Well I thought ok we can still try to go out.  But my comp had me go lay down.  Well within an hour I was at 101.3.  So she started to freak out a bit, and I just wanted to try and sleep.  (Yes I had taken Ibuprofen.) Well we stayed in that night.  And then I slept in a little bit and I still had a mild fever.  I did get a blessing as well.  So I had a fever for 3 days, but still went about teaching as best as I could.  My comp was going a little stir crazy, cuz i had to go take a nap one day.  But I couldn't control it and neither could she.  It was really odd.  

We did exchanges this week.  They do it with the Sister Training Leaders.  They are the equivalent to Zone leaders, but Sisters.  So I went to an area called White River Junction.  And went about teaching with a really nice girl named Sister Morgan.  She too when to Utah State.  We went and saw some really nice people and had a good time.  It was nice to just see how other sisters work together.  

I still like my area the best so far.  Even if we do have to travel 20-30 minutes to the nearest grocery store.  It is so beautiful.  

An odd thing that has been happening, is we have had tons of rain.  While rain is a free air conditioner, the problem is too much rain.  We have had severe flood warnings and the road conditions are terrible.  As I said before, most of the road are dirt around here.  So on the side of the road are lots of deep banks where the water drains away.

I have a great funny story.  So we were out and about one day and we're trying to find these less actives.  Well think we find the house so we look for a place to park.  Well she decided that she found a good place and so as she drives in we suddenly drop down quickly and stop.  I looked at her and said, you just got us stuck.  She claimed innocence but no matter how much she pushed the gas we wouldn't move.  We were partially in a ditch.  She drove us into a ditch! Well I get out of the car into the ditch and just start laughing.  We were going to have to get help or call the nearest ward member and he would have laughed so hard he wouldn't have been able to get there to save us.  Well my comp was upset, since she didn't want to call him.  Then we were saved.  This jeep happened to be coming up the road with 2 big guys who just got out to help.  They told her to turn the wheel, and she did, and then hit the gas.  And they pushed.  Then they left.  It was so nice that they were able to help us and it was definitely a miracle.  

There are so many simple miracles in our life though.  That was a big one, but just someone sending us a message or writing a note.  That is always a blessing and a miracle too.

So I'm going to try and send some cool pictures home.

Love 
Sister Lundahl

Wow, obedience is key!

Hello all!!

Wow this week has been a little crazy.  First, there is no such thing as a holiday on a mission.  We can stay for 1 hr at a members home for dinner and then we have to leave.  It is a challenge, cuz we want to socialize but it is also a blessing.  On the 4th of July that is what happened, we went and ate with the members and people, then we left.  Well, later that night as they lit fireworks, the deck collapsed.  Not just any collapse but right down the middle.  We had been walking on that exact same deck, 1-2 hrs before.  The deck buckled and there were probably about 15-20 people on the deck.  Nobody died, thank heavens, but the relief society president has 2 broken legs, ankle, and knee cap.  Our bishops wife cracked some vertebrae in her back and some cracked ribs.  Those two were the worst.  But there were some miracles.  One of the boys in the ward grabbed the grill as it was falling and saved everybody beneath.  Another lady in the ward had her little baby in her arms and somehow was able to protect him and save him.  Also, somehow her glasses ere in her hands, and she never takes them off.  They thing that what caused the problem was all the rain and the humidity caused the deck to rot, then also separate from the house.  Luckily, it is expected that everyone will make a full recovery.  SO here is my plug for obedience.  While that white handbook may be super long, those rules are there for a reason.  And as you follow them as a missionary you will be protected.

You want to know about the weather... Well it is hot and humid.  And always is.  Even when it rains it is still hot.  You can never escape it.  Unless you can find a place with AC, and not very many people have that.  At least the memorial is nice and cool.  And the church.  The rain is a little crazy, but I have heard that it has rained a little bit in Utah finally.  YAY!!  End that crazy heat. 

So there is a sister missionary who has a blog.  She is one of the older couples.  It is calledsaldyches.blogspot.com  or salldyches.blogspot.com  and guess what?  She is from Moroni!! And she know Janeen and Robert.  She and her husband are so nice and they are super sweet.  They have fed us, and drive us places when needed and help us all the time.  So you should tell Janeen and Robert, and check out her blog.  Apparently there is a picture of me on it doing Facilities Management (FM) stuff. 

We've met some really great people out here.  They are slow to accept the gospel but we are working with them all the time!  But they are great. 

There are so many miracles out here in this area.  It is said that if we were worthy we would be able to see the angels sitting in the treetops here at the Joseph Smith birthplace.  I think that Elder Worthlin said that.  I feel so blessed to be serving here.  This place really is sacred, and it is amazing to be able to learn the history and to share it with others along with my testimony.  Not only do we talk about his birth here, we also talk about his whole life.  And that can be a little daunting teaching older members of the gospel about Joseph Smith.  But I am constantly learning more.

The greatest thing about a mission is seeing people come closer to their Savior!  Here it can be hard to notice people's improvement since they are set in their ways, but we work with everybody, and love everybody, and are learning how to feel our Saviors love for people as well.  It is so cool to be talking with a person and to walk away feeling like you already love them as a child of God.  It was also a little odd the first time, but I'm learning. 

So I forgot my camera cord, so no pictures today, but definitely go to Sister Dyches blog and check it out. 

I have been doing M-100's 3x a week.. Or really I am starting to do them 3x a week this week.  But the journey of 1000 miles starts with 1 step right?

So today I was reading in Alma, in the war chapters.  And who doesn't love the war chapters?  Great stories and super cool tactics.  But it struck me how they were always fighting for liberty.  No matter what, even if there were dissenters in their mix, it was always for Liberty.  So that is my July 4th good plug.

So cool fact, our site director used to be a mission President in Germany.  He is a really nice guy and his wife is superb!! She is so sweet and loves everybody like her own and she is just so kind!  And right now he is talking to a former missionary in German. :) Course I have no idea what they are saying, but hey, it is cool to hear. :)

I haven't had a chance to practice my french yet, but the site directors wife went on her mission to France so maybe we can practice, but she claims she has forgotten it all. 

I love you all!  And can't wait to hear more from you!  I pray for you all and love every one of you!!

Lots of Love,

Sister Lundahl

Pictures

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First Full Week

Hey everybody,

Wow, everything sounds super crazy at home.  I'm sorry that the AC isn't working, I know that I would be dying.  But hey, at least there is no humidity to keep you hot no matter where you are, even in the shade or basement.  The heat permeates everything.  

But I am learning to love it.  My companion and I are really learning to get along.  I think that we will be able to help the people in this area a lot.  The only real problem is having enough time to visit everybody on our list.  We made a list of everybody who we need to see and there were 48 people.  I don't know about you but with 17 hours at the visitor center each week, plus 2-3 hours a day for studying, plus trying to get everything to match up with their schedule, it is hard.  We are constantly going, and we need to do splits to visit everybody, only i just got out here a little over a week.  It is frightening.  But I know that somehow i can do it.  If we can find people who will be able to go on splits with us.  

But awesome miracle of the week, well there are 2 but this one was amazing!  So there is a man in the ward who is going through some hard times. Well he has in his ear an earring.  And while we were teaching him Sister Fratcher decided to bring it up.  It was crazy, because nobody has told him about it before, plus there was a recent convert there who had 2 sets of earrings and we gave them both a for strength of youth pamphlet and she read that and next thing we know she was taking them out.  It was crazy!! Then the Brother he took out his earring as well.  He has been wearing that earring for about 40 years, and he just took it out.  We thought we was going to rip his ear to have to get it out, but he didn't thank heavens.

Another miracle was when we were out on Saturday.  We were going visiting contacts, and all of them were not interested.  It was really disappointing.  So Sis. Fratcher said, lets go visit Chip, he has been one of our reffereals for a while.  So we decided to go, and he lived in the middle of nowhere.  Literally.  Nowhere.  But we made it to his house and of course his road is super muddy with lots of potholes.  One thing to note, most of Vermont roads are not paved.   Well I said we are not going on that road.  Our car would not make it.  No more goat paths.  (My comp took another girl on a class 4 road once...) So we tried another part of the driveway, but it was worse, so my comp was about to give up when we see a jeep coming up the drive and it was struggling.  So our little car would have died.  But In the jeep this punk looking kid asked us if we needed any help.  He was Chip's son so he turned around and drove to get his Dad.  We were surprised.  Never judge anybody by their looks.  So he comes back and he dad is following him in his truck.  Long story short we give him the first lesson at the end of his driveway. and it was amazing.  As we told the first vision, the sun came out and lit us up. And the moment he stepped out of the truck, he said, oh, I have goose bumps.  I know this was meant to be.  I know you were supposed to be here.  The only problem was his friend was there and he is a new born again christian.  And he basically thinks we believe in false prophets and in a nice way told me as such.  I told him, in a nice way that the only way to know the truth is to pray and find out.  He said, God told him to be a born again christian.  So as long as his friend doesn't anti Chip.  Then we will be extremely blessed if this man joins the church.  

So President Wilkey has left the mission.  He is now out and free.  He have not met President Stoker yet.  Although, President Wilkey came to the Joseph Smith Memorial before he left, so here is I picture with me and him and his wife.  They are awesome and I can't wait to meet President Stoker. Here is a funny picture with him.  

I haven't been able to give tours yet, but i have read the book with all the information and I feel like I could give an adequate tour.  As long as i have the spirit with me I could give anybody a tour.  

Well I love you all, and know that you are all amazing!!

Lots of Love,

Sister Lundahl