25 December 2009 - Telephone call from Amberlee

Start:    8:14 PM

Finish:  8:45 PM

Call time:  31 minutes

Notes taken of our Christmas telephone call:

• Doing well, sounds very happy
• Working hard each day
• "Never enough time in a day"
• Liked her Christmas presents from home
• Companion got a lot of presents from home too
• Companion's family sent a small tree with lights
• Getting along swell with companion
• Chez and Shantaye told her what they got for Christmas
• Spanish is coming along
• Only teach Spanish speaking, if they find a contact non Spanish speaking they pass it on
• Working hard to find investigators
• Area is very large - south Oceanside and most of Carlsbad
• Had a busy day today but very nice
• She is loving her mission and wants to do the best she can!

Notes taken by John the Dad.

22 December 2009 - Merry Christmas to one and all.

Hello wonderful family! Merry, merry Christmas.


Wow. I'm totally going to have a sweet Christmas even though I'm a missionary. You sent so many goodies! Yes, I received both packages Mom. We went to the mission office to help one of the senior sisters (a service project :) on Thur and I picked up my 2 boxes then. It was perfect. And I love the socks that were in the green envelope. Genius! The music will be great - when I find time to practice it. Some might have to be sent back home to be saved for later, we'll see. The other stuff- 'wow' that's all I can say. So many gifts! You guys are great. (PS Can't watch any of the DVDs but thanks anyway. I'll eat them up when I'm back home) I was SUPER happy about the stamps. Oh man. That alone could be a great Christmas present. And the pictures! Thank you, thank you. I just soaked up that family one. I miss everyone! But I'm super happy and grateful right where I am - doing what I'm doing.

Thanks so much for the great e-mails of uplift and updates. You really are wonderful! I wish I could eat a few candy cane cookies with you...I thought about them the other day actually.

Small world - Elder Barraclough is serving in my ward. He just came here last week. Ha ha! Don't know much about him yet.

I haven't sent the little box off yet. Hopefully today, but we'll be busy again. I have quite a few pictures to send! I think you'll like them. (And honestly, I will probably send the DVDs back. Don't be sad, just remember I have a very strict mission president.)

Mom, I thought of the RS lesson and I'm glad to hear it was great. Did you get a copy of my letter from Suzanne? I asked her to give you one.

Dad, LOVED the picture with everyone in Santa hats! That is funny they had a similar idea to greet you. I think I could've guessed you would show up wearing one :)

So, my week. Wed was our district meeting and it was good. The best part was afterward when the zone leaders unloaded all the boxes in their car and did a mail call. Woo hoo! Hna Talbot got a big Christmas package from her family (they did 12 days of Christmas and we have a mini white tree). Then the ZL's held up Liahonas. Hna T and I rushed for those! It made me laugh to be in the mail call situation that made us all so happy. You'd have to be here and be a missionary to really understand how great it is :)

As I mentioned, on Thurs we went to the mission office to help Sis. Pusey. She is so great! We were organizing things in her storage rooms - so many supplies! It's fun to be at the source of it all. And we left with some goodies. Irony: found out the mission office will be in Vista starting in Jan. So the day I receive the return address labels is the day I find out they will soon be invalid. Ha ha!

On Friday we had a ward caroling activity that took too much of our time, but was fun. We rode with the bishop, his wife, and daughter. Their daughter was caroling to us during the drive and became my little shadow. We just adopted her as a third companion :) And it was fun to do a 'normal' person thing as a missionary. I wore my scarf and Hna Talbot her (my) gloves to make it seem more normal for us (wasn't nearly as cold as we're used to!) Then in the evening we put on the Manheim music (SO wonderful!) and took pictures and I opened the big box and spread out all the presents. Woo hoo! I don't know when I'll have time to open them all, but Hna Talbot said we can make time. Okey-dokey. You'll get pictures of that too, don't worry.

On Sat, we had car troubles. We went out walking for 40 mins then returned to the car and it wouldn't start. Around 2 hours later we put the new battery in and drove on our way. Gr. But all is well. A member came to our rescue and drove us to the Pep Boys to check the new battery and obtain a new one. Love our little car!

On Sun, we had a good Sacrament meeting program. No investigators at church :( Last week was not such a good week. Many investigators still aren't progressing. We're continuing to work hard and pray hard as everyone counsels. This week is looking pretty good, so far.

I'm sure more exciting things happened but I cannot remember them now! I'm sorry. Life is still great. Oh, we had one weird really warm day. It's the middle of December! So strange. I'm in California.

About the phone call - no idea when it will happen. But you'll be home all day so that works fine. It looks like the same sister that had us over for Thanksgiving will have us over for Christmas dinner. She has to work but is asking to have it off so she can have us over. She's great. And she's asking if we can help her cook. Sounds fun! So I'm thinking the call will be in the afternoon or evening. And it will be only 30 minutes (that's the rule). Hope that works out okay.

Well, time is pretty much up. I love you all and we'll talk on the phone before I e-mail again. Weird but really exciting! PS Tell Shantaye to think of some things to say ;)

Keep being great member missionaries! That helps the work progress a lot.

Love,

Hermana Green

15 December 2009 - Transfer News, Cold Weather, Tools Found

Hello family!!

Is it really the middle of December already? Wow! Thanks for sending a Christmas package off to me. 15 pounds of happiness? Oh wow, I am one lucky and blessed sister missionary.

So ...the news... we are staying together here for another transfer. Very good! We have set some goals and plan to make this a great transfer. The previous one was pretty good and we can definitely see improvement (a little easier since we whitewashed in and started with practically nothing). We are ready to work really hard and see lots more improvement.

It has been pretty cold lately. I came in with the idea that it wouldn't get cold here -- wrong! It was 40 degrees one night, according to our car. Yikes! And we've had some more rain. We actually ran in the rain on Sat. night trying to hurry to an appointment. It was entertaining and just a crazy night.

News about the tools that the elders lost.....they didn't lose them! We went back to the dealer to pick up the new ones and lo and behold the originals were found in a little compartment. Uh...yeah. We called Elder Pusey (works in the office and is in charge of all car stuff) and he said "Well, you win some and lose some." Classic! He makes us smile. So, I'm sending out an apology to all the elders we were annoyed with - the tools were not lost. Oh and we mentioned the missing tools at district meeting last week. We loved one elder's response: the jack is holding up the fridge. Ha ha! He is actually Elder Allan, a friend of Hilary's. Small world!

We've had some classic Hispanic foods a lot lately - caldo and pozole. Both soup/broth type things. They are good! We've had fish, beef, and chicken caldo. And green and red pozole. And the cactus-like stuff we ate a while back was actually cactus. Oops. translation errors. It's called 'nopales' in Espanol.

It's been a pretty good week! Our investigators aren't progressing as well :( We have a lot but they are in the "other" category right now. It's frustrating, but so it is. We just love them, pray for them, and do what we can.

Oh, I think I mentioned Belem in the last e-mail. She's great. Hna Talbot feels that we were meant to work together. She calls me "Verde" and regularly commands me to speak. She is just fun. Do you want to come here after I'm done and meet her? I think she would enjoy it. She has been feeding us tamales - I guess when you make tamales, you make tamales. So they have lots and think we are too skinny and should eat more food. (I'm eating plenty, thanks!) All the members say that. This week Ofelia said "you don't know how to eat well." (But it just sounds better in Spanish.) It made us laugh.

Speaking of Belem's commands - I speak more now than in the beginning, but Hna Talbot still does the majority of the talking. I'm working on it. Belem is a great help for that. I often get to the state of just wanting to communicate so I give up on the conjugations and just say words...he he. Not the best thing but it works usually.

About the calls home - we will go to a member's home and call with a calling card. I have no idea what time or whose home. No one has offered yet. So what time works for you? We are pretty flexible. It is still a normal day of work besides the phone call and hopefully a good dinner.

Well, I love you all! Thank you for the love and support. Please be sure to send it on to everyone that is supporting me.

Love,

Hermana Green

8 December 2009 - Out searching for troublemakers, swine flu, & rain . . .

Hello family!


Greetings from Southern Cali. The weather isn't super great but it's much better than what you and Hna Talbot's family are experiencing. I'm happy where I am :)
So, explanation of the subject line. On 2 Dec we were in the area where we first met the local gang members and I mentioned maybe we should go find more of them to talk to. Hna Talbot said: "out searching for the troublemakers". I laughed and wrote it down in my planner to share with you. Then this morning our study schedule was interrupted and we got a free swine flu shot at a clinic by our house. The day just feels off now, but it's all good. We are protected :) I've had 2 flu shots this year when I've never had any before! And finally - rain. It rained yesterday! (We prayed it wouldn't rain on Sunday so an investigator would come to church and Sunday was a beautiful day.) It was fun and we got some laughs out of it. Hna Talbot dropped her umbrella at one point so I went after it then the wind blew mine the wrong way out and I'm sure it looked hilarious from a 3rd person point-of-view! In the evening the rain had stopped but it was really windy. And at one point the wind turned my hair into a tornado (sort of). I felt it all lift up and swirl around me. Wish I could've gotten a picture! I'm sure it looked cool.

Mom, thank you so much for the package. It was little and PERFECT! It just needed one piece of candy and it would've been enough for Christmas. The 2 pairs of mittens was great. I was confused at first. Then I realized Hna Talbot needs some too. And yesterday we were both very grateful for them in the rainy weather. So thank you! From both of us.

Dad, I remember visiting with Pres. Lowe. I don't remember his wife as well since I was little. We are blessed to have great leaders and examples in our lives. I LOVED the toilet pictures. Showed them to Hna Talbot and she laughed too. Nice one!

Mom, very exciting news about Tiffy! I was wondering if they would have another little baby....maybe a girl?! Wait, I won't be there for any of it. sad. I'll keep Patrice in my prayers - thanks for the update. And a picture of their new little guy would be appreciated. (via e-mail is fine) Great to hear how the ward is. President did bring up my meds and asked if they were helping, hurting, or the same. I sort of evaded it and said I'm managing things (so I didn't have to say I'm not really taking them :) And we currently have 2 senior couples serving in the office. The Puseys and the Bolanders. They're great.

We just work with one ward - the Spanish ward. But it covers the whole stake and that's why we have such a large area. 2 sets of missionaries for the entire stake boundaries. I have not had to speak in Sacrament meeting yet. That would be interesting - I'd keep it short and sweet. We have district meetings every week, like all missionaries. They are good training moments. They had an activity a few weeks ago but we didn't make it. They will have one today too but we won't make it. Have to go to the car dealer to get the tools that should be in the back of the car to fix flat tires....we have nothing. As Elder Pusey said "Elders, what did you do with those tools?" Ha ha. They send in sisters to clean up the messes made by elders!

It is the last week of the transfer. So strange. Things are going great and it is odd to think there is a possibility of being transferred to a new area and/or a new companion. But neither of us thinks it will be that way. I'll let you know next week!

You want to hear about our investigators? Okay. We are teaching a lady named Belem and she has been taught for quite a while. She really has a desire to be baptized but is struggling with living some of the commandments. We are doing what we can, but it really comes down to her finding a way to live them all. Hopefully she will be able to be baptized in January. She calls me 'Verde' and commands me to speak periodically. She's funny.

We are teaching a young boy named Andy and he is excited to be baptized, but his family has not been keeping their appointments with us :( We found them at home on Sunday night but it became an awesome/strange situation that was thrown at us: we went with them to a friend's house and taught the friend the first lesson about The Restoration. Say what? That is exactly how it is supposed to be! Member referrals and they fellowship the person and help us teach them. It just rarely happens so it was a surprise. It was great though. The man (youngish 20's or 30's) is called Ulysses (no clue on the spelling for the Spanish pronunciation) and very geniune and listened attentively. Pretty exciting. Andy would like to be baptized on Dec. 26 but that probably won't happen on that day since we have more things to teach him and they need to attend church! (His mom and brother are members but were offended some time ago and stopped going to chruch.)

And we're teaching a woman named Sandra who is pretty golden. But she is just visiting from Mexico and is going to Chula Vista today and may not come back :( She came to the very end of Sacrament meeting and stayed for the rest of the meetings. It was a great surprise. She is really open to learning. Love her already.

And we have other investigators, some of whom aren't doing much. I'm sure JJ and Aub and all the other missionaries know what that is like! I'm pretty much out of time. Thanks for all your love and support! It is great to be a missionary and share the joy of the gospel with others. I read Elder Holland's conference talk again and it's so great. God loves us so much and manifests it in many ways.

I love you! Keep being good member missionaries while I work at being a great full-time missionary.

Love,

Hermana Green

1 December 2009 - Sources of Happiness

Hello family!


I don't have much time left for e-mail this fine day. I was enjoying your e-mails and photographs. Thanks Dad! I would love a printed version of #8338 since it shows the house and mountains really well. Great photo.

I am doing great. And as the subject says we have lots of sources for happiness. The funny ones: * in our area we have the source of AT&T trucks and buses. So exciting! *one of our good friends is Tommy the Thomas Guide with maps for San Diego County *our car makes spaceship noises when we park him at night so his name is Marvin the Martian. Yesterday I shortened it to Marvy and I really like it (maybe even better than Tommy).

So. I survived zone conference playing the piano. Phew! Practiced for nearly 20 minutes beforehand which helped. And we changed the musical number so I played the easiest song in the hymn book. He he. Everyone seemed to appreciate it. And zone conference was amazing. Wow! Just love it. I'm all pumped up again. We learned about finding pathways to investigator's hearts and doing that through listening. Listening to the investigator, the Spirit, and our companion. It was really good. And I had a good interview with President. Quick and to-the-point. We have such great support here in the Carlsbad CA Mission! I love the senior couples in the office and President and his wife are great. It's fabulous! (PS G & G Barlow: thank you for all you did as office couples. You are fabulous examples and essential to the smooth movement of missionary work)

We had yummy food at zone conference :) Provided by our wonderful support team - lasagna, salad, and pumpkin pie. Hurray! Usually the RS provides the food but it was the day before Thanksgiving. They also gave us clementines throughout the day as "wake up snacks". Happy.

We were also taken care of on Thanksgiving Day. We joined a member, Hna Lourdes from Peru, and her non-member husband, David. She left a hilarious voice message on our phone the night before about how she wanted to cook a turkey for us but she doesn't know how and she hoped we could eat it and it wouldn't be too hard. It was great. Still have it on the phone. The food was fabulous. Her husband did the turkey ;) And she made potatoes from Peru that were very yellow but tasty. We didn't have time for the pecan pie but they sent half of it home with us. Along with a little of everything else. How awesome! Then in the evening we visited a family and they sent us home with food too. Ah! Our refrigerator is quite full. And we just had a good meal the day before. It's definitely feast or famine. (the members are taking care of us. We cook for ourselves sometimes and usually have 1 or 2 dinners with members every week. We had an outing to a restaurant on Sat with Ofelia. China Star Buffet. Chinese food! Chopsticks! I was very happy.)

We got some real tacos last P-day at a store by our house. They were good. And I tried Horchata which is a tasty drink. Sort of like milk, with cinammon flavor. We bought some, but it has a licorice flavor and isn't as good. Then an investigator Isabel gave us apples on our way our her door and said "bonita como Ud.s" that made me smile (translation=beautiful like you guys)

What to say in my last two minutes?! We went to a baptism in Vista on Sat night. An investigator Hna talbot taught a lot. It was great to see Hna Denker again! And my piano skills were enlisted :).

I know this is God's kingdom on the earth and I love being on the front lines. I encourage you to keep building your testimonies through scripture study and prayer. And be good member missionaries! This is the true church. Jesus Christ is at the head and he directs it through inspired leaders.

I love you all!!


Hermana Green